Two California Marines, Lance Cpl. Albert A. Aguilera and Lance Cpl. Marcelino M. Gamino, were identified as the service members killed in a vehicle crash during a military exercise in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The crash occurred on Tuesday near the U.S.-Mexico border while the Marines were supporting Joint Task Force Southern Border operations.
Lance Cpl. Aguilera, 22, hailed from Riverside, California, and enlisted in March 2023. Lance Cpl. Gamino, 28, was from Fresno, California, and enlisted in May 2022. Both Marines were based at Camp Pendleton in Southern California and served as combat engineers. The crash also left a third Marine critically injured, who remains hospitalized.
According to ABC30, the crash took place during a convoy movement near Santa Teresa. The Marines were transported to a hospital in El Paso, Texas, where Aguilera and Gamino were pronounced dead. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Tyrone A. Barrion, the commanding officer for 1st Combat Engineer Battalion and Task Force Sapper, expressed his condolences, saying, "The loss of Lance Cpl. Aguilera and Lance Cpl. Gamino is deeply felt by all of us." He emphasized the importance of supporting the families and Marines affected by this tragedy.
The incident did not involve any of the military's Stryker vehicles used for border patrols, and no civilians were harmed. The Marines were part of a larger deployment supporting President Donald Trump's executive order to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, involving over 10,000 active-duty service members.