At a Glance
- Family members of two Trinidadian men filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the U.S. government on Tuesday.
- The suit challenges a U.S. military strike that killed six men on Oct. 14, claiming the killings were extrajudicial.
- The lawsuit is the first to target the Trump administration’s Caribbean-and-Pacific drug-boat campaign.
- Why it matters: It questions the legal basis for U.S. strikes on vessels in international waters and could set a precedent for future litigation.
The families of two Trinidadian men who were killed in a U.S. military strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat on Oct. 14 have sued the U.S. government. The lawsuit accuses the administration of wrongful death and extrajudicial killings and is the first of its kind to target the Trump administration in federal court.
The Lawsuit
The case was filed by lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Professor Jonathan Hafetz of Seton Hall Law School and the ACLU of Massachusetts. It alleges that the U.S. strike violated:
- The Death on the High Seas Act – allowing families to sue for wrongful deaths occurring more than 3 nautical miles from the U.S.
- The Alien Tort Statute – permitting foreign nationals to sue in federal court for violations of international law.
The plaintiffs argue that the strike was not justified under the laws of war because the U.S. had no declared armed conflict with drug cartels.
> “These premeditated and intentional killings lack any plausible legal justification,” the lawsuit says. “Thus, they were simply murders, ordered by individuals at the highest levels of government and obeyed by military officers in the chain of command.”
Background of the Strike
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump said the strike killed all six men on the boat, describing them as “six male narcoterrorists.” They claimed the vessel was affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization and was trafficking narcotics.
The strike was the administration’s fifth in a campaign that has struck three dozen boats and killed at least 125 people, according to the Defense Department, since it began in early September.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Early September | U.S. campaign against alleged drug-smuggling vessels launched |
| Oct. 12 | Chad Joseph’s last call to his wife and mother |
| Oct. 14 | U.S. airstrike kills six men on a boat traveling from Venezuela to Trinidad |
| Oct. 14 | Families hold memorial services after learning of the strike |
The lawsuit says Joseph and Samaroo were fishing in waters off the Venezuelan coast and working on farms in Venezuela when they were returning to their homes in Las Cuevas in Trinidad and Tobago.
Family Accounts
Joseph’s mother, Lenore Burnley, and Samaroo’s sister, Sallycar Korasingh, are suing on behalf of the two men’s surviving family members.
> “Chad was a loving and caring son who was always there for me, for his wife and children, and for our whole family. I miss him terribly. We all do,” Burnley said in a statement. “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.”
Burnley added that Joseph was the primary breadwinner for his family and had been traveling 20 nautical miles to Venezuela for work. He had been in Venezuela since April and often stayed there for weeks or months.
> “Rishi used to call our family almost every day and then one day he disappeared, and we never heard from him again,” Korasingh said. “Rishi was a hardworking man who paid his debt to society and was just trying to get back on his feet again and to make a decent living in Venezuela to help provide for his family.”
Korasingh also noted that Samaroo had spent 15 years in prison for a homicide but had been working in construction and farming in Venezuela before his death.
Legal Arguments
The lawsuit challenges the U.S. government’s claim of a non-international armed conflict with drug cartels. It asserts that such a conflict does not exist, so the laws of war do not apply.
The plaintiffs quote the Trinidadian government’s statement that it has no information linking Joseph or Samaroo to illegal activities and that it had no information of the victims of U.S. strikes being in possession of illegal drugs, guns, or small arms.
> “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,” Korasingh said.
Responses and Implications
The lawsuit is the first of its kind to target the Trump administration’s military campaign against alleged drug-smuggling vessels. It raises questions about the legality of U.S. strikes in international waters and could influence future policy and litigation.
The U.S. government has not yet responded publicly to the lawsuit. The case was filed on a Tuesday, and the families are seeking accountability for the killings they say were unlawful.
Key Takeaways
- The families of Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo are suing the U.S. government for wrongful death.
- The lawsuit claims the Oct. 14 strike violated U.S. and international law.
- The case challenges the U.S. justification of a non-international armed conflict with drug cartels.
- If successful, the suit could set a precedent for future claims against U.S. military actions in international waters.
The lawsuit underscores the tension between U.S. anti-drug operations and international legal standards, and it will be closely watched by those monitoring the conduct of U.S. military forces abroad.
