The Marine Corps has identified two active-duty service members based out of Camp Pendleton, California, who were killed in a vehicle accident Tuesday while deployed to the southern U.S. border.
Lance Cpl. Albert Aguilera, 22, and Lance Cpl. Marcelino Gamino, 28, both Marine combat engineers and from California, were killed during a convoy near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, according to a news release from their unit.
A third Marine from the same unit, the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, was in critical condition as of Thursday evening, when the service issued the news release. His identity was not released in the statement.
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All three Marines were transported to a hospital in El Paso, Texas, which is located just miles away from where they crashed across the New Mexico state border. Aguilera and Gamino were pronounced dead at the hospital, the news release said.
The statement said they were on a “convoy movement” near Santa Teresa, though it was unclear where they were going or the specific purpose of the convoy. The three Marines were assigned to 1st Marine Division, which sent an initial batch of 500 Marines to the southern border near San Diego, California, in late January.
“The loss of Lance Cpl. Aguilera and Lance Cpl. Gamino is deeply felt by all of us,” said Lt. Col. Tyrone Barrion, the commanding officer of 1st Combat Engineer Battalion and Task Force Sapper, a unit composed of roughly 500 Marines and sailors charged with reinforcing the barrier wall near San Diego.
“I extend my heartfelt condolences and prayers to the families of our fallen brothers,” his statement continued. “Our top priority right now is to ensure that their families, and the Marines affected by their passing, are fully supported during this difficult time.”
A defense official previously told Military.com that the Marines were operating a civilian rental vehicle, a common mode of transportation during active-duty operations at the border. The Washington Post reported that the incident involved their vehicle rolling over, citing U.S. defense officials.
The Marines were part of a contingent of thousands of active-duty troops deployed to various parts of the U.S. southern border amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
“I am very saddened to learn of the tragic accident yesterday that took the lives of two of our nation’s heroes and seriously injured another,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on social media Wednesday. “My heartfelt condolences and prayers are with them, their families, and the unit.”
Army units sent to the border are operating in tactical vehicles, specifically Strykers, eight-wheeled armored personnel carriers meant primarily to transport soldiers to and from their missions as they patrol the border.
Aguilera enlisted into the Marine Corps in March 2023, according to the news release from 1st Marine Division. He was promoted to lance corporal last spring. Gamino enlisted in 2022 and had deployed to Darwin, Australia, with Marine Rotational Force-Darwin in 2024.
The incident is under investigation, the news release said.
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