Service members killed in border crash were California-based U.S. Marines

SAN DIEGO — Two service members killed during a border security mission in New Mexico last week were identified as U.S. Marines based at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County.

The 1st Marine Division identified them as Lance Cpl. Albert A. Aguilera, 22, of Riverside, California, and Lance Cpl. Marcelino M. Gamino, 28, of Fresno, California. 

They were pronounced dead at University Medical Center of El Paso, Texas, the division said in a statement. A third Marine injured alongside them was in critical condition at the medical center, it said.

The three were in a vehicle that was a part of a caravan when it crashed Tuesday morning, the division said.

The crash in an area just north of El Paso was reported shortly before 9 a.m. on New Mexico’s Highway 9 near the Santa Teresa Border Patrol Station in Santa Teresa, NBC affiliate KTSM of El Paso reported.

The Marines were part of the military’s Joint Task Force Southern Border, which seeks to increase security along the U.S.-Mexico border. This year U.S. forces there came under consolidated military command after President Donald Trump declared an emergency and tapped the defense budget for the effort.

The 1st Marine Division said in a statement that Aguilera and Gamino were combat engineers with the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion at Camp Pendleton. Gamino was decorated with the National Defense Service Medal and a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

He deployed to Darwin, Australia, as part of a rotational force last year, the division said.

Last month, nearly 3,000 active-duty troops were deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border as part of Trump’s effort to halt migrant and drug traffic.

Trump has not commented formally on the Marines’ deaths.

Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, who represents El Paso, said in a statement: “I am saddened by the loss of two U.S. service members who were killed in yesterday’s accident in Santa Teresa. I’m praying that the third service member who remains in serious condition recovers, and I’m thinking of the families of all involved.”

Marine Lt. Col. Tyrone A. Barrion, commander of the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, said in the 1st Marine Division statement that the loss of the two lance corporals “is deeply felt” in the military branch.

“I extend my heartfelt condolences and prayers to the families of our fallen brothers,” he said. “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.”

The cause of the crash remained under investigation, the division said.