Overview
- ABC News confirmed Avila’s death on Thursday through an on-air announcement by Diane Macedo and an internal memo from president Almin Karamehmedovic, who offered condolences to his three children.
- An official cause of death was not released; the Los Angeles Times reported he had been in hospice for six weeks and died from complications after a fall, details not confirmed by ABC.
- Avila served as a senior correspondent and 20/20 contributor, covered the White House from 2012 to 2016, and won the Merriman Smith Award for first reporting the U.S.–Cuba diplomatic reopening.
- He underwent a kidney transplant in 2020 donated by his brother, left ABC News in 2021, and returned to reporting in 2023 as a senior investigative reporter at KGTV in San Diego.
- Colleagues and media figures praised his investigative rigor and mentorship, with ABC citing his decades of work on major trials, immigration coverage, and national and international stories.