Prominent Edinburg native remembered nation wide

EDINBURG — The former chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, an Edinburg native, died last week.

Gustavo De La Viña died of natural causes Oct. 26 at the age of 70 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he worked as a private adviser for the government.

The 1958 graduate of Edinburg High School joined the Border Patrol in 1970 after giving up teaching in Edinburg.

"He kept climbing until the very top of the whole country, we were so proud of him," said his brother, Frank De La Viña, a retired Edinburg teacher.

De La Viña was the agency’s chief from 1997 until 2004 when he retired from the Border Patrol and was succeeded by another Edinburg native, David Aguilar.

"Edinburg has been blessed because we’ve had two Border Patrol Chiefs," said Joe Ponce, nephew of De La Viña and an Edinburg resident.

De La Viña initiated Operation Gatekeeper in the early 1990s, adding infrastructure, technology and more agents along the border to discourage immigrants from entering the country illegally.

De la Viña also created the Border Patrol’s Border Safety Initiative, in which the United States and Mexico worked together to reduce the potential for loss of life along the border by warning would-be crossers of the perils of crossing illegally and rescue those in danger.

He was also honored by Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush.

Family, friends and Local Border Patrol Agents remembered Gustavo in a memorial service at the El Buen Pastor Methodist Church Monday evening.

A private viewing will be 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. today, followed by a public viewing from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Queen of Heaven Funeral Home in Mesa, Ariz.

A memorial service will be conducted at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at St. Anne’s Church, 440 East Elliot Road Gilbert, Ariz. Internment services at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Mesa Ariz. will follow the memorial service.

Gustavo is survived by his wife, Donna O. De la Viña of Mesa, Ariz.; and his children from a previous marriage, Gustavo De la Viña Jr., of Edinburg, and daughters Dina De la Viña, Monica Rodriguez of Edinburg, and Monette San Miguel of Havelock, NC.; and grandchildren, Jimmy De la Viña of El Paso; Anthony Jesse, Justin, Jonathan, and Issac De la Viña, all of Edinburg; Anthony and Victoria San Miguel, both from Havelock, NC; and younger brother, Frank De la Viña of Edinburg.