April 16 (UPI) — Two service members were killed and a third is in serious condition at a local hospital following a vehicle accident near the U.S.-Mexico border in New Mexico.
The incident occurred at about 8:50 a.m. MDT Tuesday near Santa Teresa, N.M., U.S. Northern Command said Tuesday night in a statement.
The identities of the service members were not disclosed. USNORTHCOM said all three were deployed to Joint Task Force Southern Border, which assumed control of the southern border last month to enforce President Donald Trump’s immigration-related executive orders.
Little was revealed about the incident.
“The cause of the accident is under investigation,” it said.
Trump declared an emergency at the southern border on his first day in office and announced plans to deploy troops there “to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”
Thousands of troops have since been sent south, including 1,500 active-duty service members in January.
Last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth deployed a Stryker Brigade Combat Team and a General Support Aviation Battalion to “reinforce and expand current border security operations to seal the border and protect the territorial integrity of the United States, a priority of the President.”
