In a Daily Mail exclusive, Congressman Tony Gonzales (R-TX) is being accused of having an affair with staffer Regina Santos-Aviles. On September 13, Santos-Aviles had been set on fire and was found in her backyard by her mother.
Santos-Avile [sic] was regional district director for Rep. Gonzales, a Republican representing Texas' 23d Congressional District. She joined his staff in November 2021 after working at the Uvalde Area Chamber of Commerce.
Her mother, Nora Ann Gonzales, previously told the San Antonio Express-News that her daughter was upset on the night of Sept. 13 because her 8-year-old son was spending the weekend with his father. Santos-Aviles and her husband had separated and were sharing parenting responsibilities, her mother said.
Sensing her daughter's distress, Gonzales said she went to the home that night to find Santos-Aviles burned and pleading for water.
“The last thing she said is, ‘I don’t want to die,’” Gonzales recalled.
Santos-Aviles was transported to Brooke Army Medical Center, but died on September 14 as a result of her injuries. The death is still under investigation by the Uvalde Police Department and the Texas Rangers, but video footage obtained by a local outlet shows that Santos-Aviles "doused herself" with gasoline and ignited the fuel.
Police officers told the firefighters that she had, 'doused herself in gasoline and was ignited into flames,' according to a Uvalde Volunteer Fire Department report obtained by Uvalde Leader-News.
The Department of Public Safety determined she was alone at the time of the fire after reviewing home surveillance video.
Uvalde Police Chief Homer Delgado said there was no indication of foul play, but the Texas Rangers are helping complete their investigation.
Days after her death, Santos-Aviles' estranged husband made a cryptic statement to another local news outlet.
Reached on Tuesday afternoon, Santos-Aviles' husband, Adrian Aviles, said the Texas Rangers had interviewed him about his wife's death.
He reiterated an earlier statement to the Express-News that "the truth shall come to light" now that authorities are investigating.
On Monday, the Daily Mail published the allegations that Rep. Gonzales and Santos-Aviles had engaged in an affair.
Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales allegedly had an affair with a senior aide who later died after dousing herself with gasoline and setting herself on fire, multiple sources have told the Daily Mail.
Regina Aviles, 35, poured gasoline over herself before becoming engulfed in flames at her home on September 13 in Uvalde, Texas – about two hours west of San Antonio.
The married mother-of-one, who was separated from her husband, had served as Gonzales's regional district director in Uvalde since 2021.
Sources who spoke with the Daily Mail on the condition of anonymity said that Aviles and the married congressman became romantically involved after she joined his staff on November 21, 2021.
Gonzales's spokesman refused to deny the affair when repeatedly offered the opportunity by the Daily Mail.
However, Santos-Aviles' mother, Nora Gonzales, disputes that any affair occurred.
“I don’t think it has any merit,” Nora Gonzales, the mother of Regina Santos-Aviles, told The Post.
The Daily Mail reported on Monday that Santos-Aviles had separated from her husband and was having an affair with Gonzales before her death at her Uvalde, Texas, home on Sept. 13.
Nora Gonzales said she believes the report was “completely false.” [...]
Nora told The Post she is unsure why her daughter doused herself in gasoline.
Surveillance footage reportedly indicated that no one else was home at the time.
The Post also reached out to Santos-Aviles’ husband, but he declined to comment.
From initial appearances, this looks to be a "he-said, she-said" situation, and tragically, Santos-Aviles can neither confirm nor deny these accusations. The fact that Adrian Aviles and Santos-Aviles were estranged adds more fodder. Aviles appears to have an axe to grind, and he seems to be taking advantage of this. So, the ball is in Rep. Tony Gonzales' court, and it's a complicated play. It is not surprising that Gonzales' office is avoiding comment to the press. Undoubtedly Gonzales and his team, and perhaps House Republican leadership, are putting their heads together to craft a full statement that is sensitive to Santos-Aviles' tragic death and the ongoing investigation, while addressing the Daily Mail allegations. However, it would behoove them to get this statement done sooner rather than later, as there's enough ammunition for the legacy media and alternative and independent media alike to lock, load, and deploy, without any care about who gets caught with the flak. After all, this is a Republican we're talking about.
In his three terms in Congress, Tony Gonzales has distinguished himself as a rising star in the Republican Party. Gonzales has a bootstrap background story of being raised by a single mother and his grandparents. After his grandfather died, he chose to drop out of school in order to join the military. In the Navy, Gonzales saw deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, served honorably, and was promoted to one of the Navy’s highest ranks of Master Chief Petty Officer. Gonzales went on to earn his high school diploma, and also a graduate certificate from Georgetown University, and a Master’s degree in International Relations from American Public University. In tandem with his congressional service, Gonzales is pursuing a Ph.D. in International Development with an emphasis on Security Studies and International Politics. Gonzalez even served under former senator, now Secretary of State, Marco Rubio as a Department of Defense legislative fellow.
Gonzales' district is on the Southern border, and he serves his party as a subject matter expert: articulating and garnering support for President Donald Trump's border policies. During Biden's administration, Gonzales toured the border with Elon Musk and others, highlighting Biden's border crisis and the failures of the administration. Gonzales is also a poster child for family values: he is married and has six children.
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With Regina Santos-Aviles' tragic death and rumors of an extramarital affair, Gonzales' reputation is in the crosshairs. Depending on how it develops, this also may compromise his congressional seat. With the Schumer shutdown, Texas redistricting, and the midterms looming, it's a less-than-opportune time to be under this type of microscope.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece was edited post-publication for clarity.)
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