2 Marines Killed in Vehicle Crash Near Southern Border Identified

A third marine, who hasn’t been named, remains in critical condition at University Medical Hospital in El Paso, Texas.

Lance Cpl. Marcelino Gamino, 28, of Fresno, Calif., died in a crash near the southern border in New Mexico on April 15, 2025. U.S. Marine Corps

The 1st Marine Division announced on April 18 the identities of two Marines who died after their vehicle crashed along the southern border on April 15.

Lance Corporal Albert Aguilera, 22, from Riverside, California, and Lance Corporal Marcelino Gamino, 28, from Fresno, California, were taking part in a convoy movement near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, when their vehicle crashed with a civilian vehicle west of Fort Bliss Army base near the Texas state line at approximately 8:50 a.m. local time, the division said.

Military deportation flights depart from that base, and Aguilera and Gamino were there to support Joint Task Force Southern Border operations as part of the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion after President Donald Trump allowed the military to take control of the region known as the Roosevelt Reservation. That is the land owned by the federal government along the U.S.-Mexico border of New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

“The complexity of the current situation requires that our military take a more direct role in securing our southern border than in the recent past,” the president’s memo stated.

Aguilera enlisted in March 2023 and was promoted to Lance Corporal in May 2024.

Gamino enlisted in May 2022 and earned his Lance Corporal promotion in August 2024. He was deployed to Darwin, Australia, with the Marine Rotational Force in 2024, and was awarded the National Defence Service Medal and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

The men were transported to University Medical Hospital in El Paso, Texas, along with an injured third Marine. The 1st Marine Division announced that the two had been pronounced dead at the hospital. The third Marine, still unnamed, remains in critical condition.

“The loss of Lance Cpl. Aguilera and Lance Cpl. Gamino is deeply felt by all of us,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Tyrone A. Barrion, the commanding officer for 1st Combat Engineer Battalion and Task Force Sapper.

“I extend my heartfelt condolences and prayers to the families of our fallen brothers. 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 news of their death was announced on April 15 but their identities remained private until after the Marines’ next of kin was notified.

“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,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on social media platform X on April 16. “My heartfelt condolences and prayers are with them, their families, and the unit.”

Juliette Fairley contributed to this report.