October 2022

Omar Villafranca is a CBS News correspondent based in Dallas, Texas.

Villafranca has reported for CBS News on the ground at the riots in Ferguson, Mo., along the destructive path of Hurricanes Harvey, Maria and Michael, and traveled to El Salvador to trace the root cause of migrants coming to the United States. Villafranca has been part of CBS News’ multiplatform, multi-broadcast coverage of the shooting of five police officers in Dallas. For his extensive coverage of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery on CBS News platforms and on 48 HOURS, he won a Gracie from the Alliance for Women in Media and the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association.

He joined CBS News in 2014 as a correspondent for Newspath, CBS News’ 24-hour newsgathering service for CBS stations and broadcasters around the world.

Before CBS, Villafranca worked at KXAS-TV Dallas-Fort Worth, at KOTV-TV the CBS affiliate in Tulsa, Okla., and at KSWO-TV in Lawton, Okla.

Villafranca was born in San Antonio, Texas, and earned a degree in broadcast journalism from Texas Christian University. He lives with his wife and daughter in Texas.