The U.S.-Mexico border seen in the Santa Teresa area of New Mexico on April 11, 2025. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
Investigators are working to determine what caused a single-vehicle accident Tuesday morning in New Mexico that killed two Marines deployed to the southwest border mission and critically injured a third.
The Marines involved in the accident were deployed to the area from the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, Calif., as part of Joint Task Force Southern Border — a mission to deter illegal activity at the U.S. border with Mexico, according to 1st Marine Division.
The names of the two Marines killed will be released 24 hours after their families have been notified.
The troops were on duty when the accident occurred at about 8:50 a.m. along N.M. Highway 9 near the Santa Teresa Border Patrol Station, according to the division and local law enforcement. At the time, the three Marines were driving a civilian vehicle to El Paso, Texas, about 20 miles east of the Border Patrol station.
The accident involved a silver Jeep Gladiator four-door truck, according to video from the scene taken by KFOX, a local TV station.
The task force assumed control of the southern border mission on March 14 as part of President Donald Trump’s emphasis on controlling the flow of people and materiel crossing the Mexican border. Roughly 6,600 active-duty service members are deployed to the mission, according to the joint task force.
However, troops have been working in support of Customs and Border Protection since Trump first deployed them in 2018. The mission continued under former President Joe Biden with National Guard troops rotating to the southern border.
