OAN Staff James Meyers
2:10 PM – Friday, April 18, 2025
The U.S. military released the names of the two Marines that were tragically killed in a vehicle accident on Tuesday after swerving off the road into a 10-foot ditch and rolled over along a narrow highway in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
The two Marines were identified as Lance Cpl. Albert A. Aguilera, 22, of Riverside, California, and Lance Cpl. Marcelino M. Gamino, 28, of Fresno, California. The two service members were both combat engineers with the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, according to the 1st Marine Division.
The deceased military members were there to help in the Trump administration’s crackdown on the border to stop illegal crossings and halt drugs coming into the U.S. such as fentanyl.
During his service, Gamino received the National Defense Service Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. He was also deployed to Darwin, Australia, with Marine Rotational Force-Darwin in 2024.
Aguilera enlisted in March 2023 and was promoted to lance corporal in May 2024, according to the release.
“The loss of Lance Cpl. Aguilera and Lance Cpl. Gamino is deeply felt by all of us,” U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Tyrone A. Barrion, the commanding officer for 1st Combat Engineer Battalion and Task Force Sapper, said in a statement.
“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,” Barrion added.
The Marines were driving along a two-lane highway as they tried to pass another vehicle, causing their civilian Jeep vehicle to roll into a ditch known as “Snake Canyon,” which is known for snakes and drug smuggling.
The two Marines were taken to University Medical Hospital, El Paso, Texas, where they later died.
A border agent “was covered head to toe” in blood after attempting to save the service members, according to a source.
“That area out there is treacherous,” said a source.
“It would be a horrible place to go off the road because the canyon is right off the shoulder. It has concrete tunnels that run underneath the highway and we have sensors there because illegal aliens hide under it and then get picked up by a load vehicle,” said another source.
The two Marines were airlifted to University Medical Hospital, El Paso, Texas, where they later died.
Meanwhile, a third Marine in the battalion remains in critical condition after sustaining injuries in the accident, the 1st Marine Division said.
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