Family members of two Trinidadian men killed during a U.S. military strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat filed the first wrongful death lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday (January 27) in federal court. The suit accuses the government of wrongful death and extrajudicial killings, challenging the legal basis of the ongoing military campaign targeting suspected drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
According to the lawsuit, Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, were returning home from Venezuela to Las Cuevas, Trinidad, when their boat was struck by a U.S. airstrike on October 14. The families, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Center for Constitutional Rights, and legal scholars, argue the men were not involved in drug trafficking but were working as fishermen and farm laborers. The suit claims neither family was notified of their loved ones’ deaths, learning of the strike only after both men failed to return. The lawsuit says Joseph and Samaroo were the main breadwinners for their families.
Statements from the families reflect their grief and desire for accountability. Lenore Burnley, Joseph’s mother, said, “We know this lawsuit won’t bring Chad back to us, but we’re trusting God to carry us through this, and we hope that speaking out will help get us some truth and closure.” Sallycar Korasingh, Samaroo’s sister, stated, “If the U.S. government believed Rishi had done anything wrong, it should have arrested, charged, and detained him, not murdered him. They must be held accountable.”
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said all six men on board were “narco terrorists” affiliated with a designated terrorist organization and that the boat was trafficking narcotics. President Trump publicly announced the strike, stating intelligence confirmed the vessel’s criminal ties. Since September, the administration’s campaign—called Operation Southern Spear—has targeted at least 36 boats, resulting in more than 120 deaths.
The lawsuit, however, cites the Trinidadian government, which has stated it has no information linking Joseph or Samaroo to illegal activities or possession of drugs or weapons. The plaintiffs allege the October 14 airstrike violated the Death on the High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute, which allow family members and foreign nationals to sue for wrongful deaths and violations of international law on the high seas.
Legal experts and members of Congress have questioned the legitimacy of the strikes, noting that attacking suspected drug traffickers with military force departs from traditional law enforcement methods. The Trump administration has justified the operations as part of a non-international armed conflict with drug cartels, supported by a classified legal opinion, but the lawsuit disputes this, arguing that neither man was an enemy combatant or taking part in hostilities against the United States.
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