U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales met with El Paso and Socorro police as bombshell reports revealed that he was in a romantic relationship with an aide who fatally set herself on fire last year.
Gonzales shared a pair of social media posts on Feb. 18, saying he had met with El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas and Socorro Mayor Rudy Cruz and Chief of Police Robert Rojas to discuss millions of dollars of “community investments” that he advocated for while on the House Appropriations Committee.
“The El Paso Police Department was awarded a $2.5 million grant to hire 18 new officers to reduce response times and improve public safety,” Gonzales posted.
“I recently secured a $4.2 million community investment through my seat on the House Committee on Appropriations for the Socorro Police Department to upgrade equipment to enhance public safety measures,” he added in a separate post.
Gonzales appeared to only be in El Paso for the day — he posted on Facebook he was meeting with officials in Presidio on Thursday, Feb. 19.
The meetings with El Paso-area officials come as the San Antonio Express-News reported on Feb. 17 receiving a screenshot of a text message confirming an affair with aide Regina Santos-Aviles.
A former staffer, who chose to remain anonymous, said that Santos-Aviles had “spiraled into a depression” after her husband discovered the relationship and “Gonzales abruptly cut her off,” according to the Express-News. The former staffer shared a screenshot with the Express-News of a text message from Santos-Aviles in which she acknowledged having an “affair with our boss.”
The Express-News also spoke with Santos-Aviles husband, Adrian Aviles, who said Gonzales “abused his power” during an interview released on Feb. 18.
San Antonio Express-News pulls Gonzales endorsement
The Express-News Editorial Board announced it had withdrawn its endorsement of Gonzales in the Republican primary for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District following its report confirming he had an affair with Santos-Aviles.
“We were aware of rumors of this affair, and in January we weighed not making a recommendation in the GOP primary for this race. However, we ultimately decided to follow the factual record as it was known at the time,” the Express-News said in its editorial published Feb. 17.
Natassia Paloma may be reached at npaloma@gannett.com, @NatassiaPaloma on X, natassia_paloma on Instagram, and Natassia Paloma on Facebook.
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This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: US Rep. Tony Gonzales was in El Paso as reports surfaced over affair