Family members of two men who were killed in a U.S. airstrike on a boat in the Caribbean are suing the Trump administration for their deaths.
The airstrike occurred amid the Trump administration’s efforts to stop vessels allegedly carrying narcotics to the United States.
From NBC News:
Family members of two Trinidadian men who were killed in a U.S. strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in October sued the U.S. government Tuesday, accusing it of wrongful death and extrajudicial killings.
The lawsuit is the first of its kind to be filed against the Trump administration in federal court over its military campaign against alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, were killed in a U.S. military strike on Oct. 14 while they were on a boat traveling from Venezuela to Trinidad, their family members allege in the lawsuit. The lawsuit says Joseph and Samaroo “had been fishing in waters off the Venezuelan coast and working on farms in Venezuela.” It says they were returning to their homes in Las Cuevas in Trinidad and Tobago when their boat was struck.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump said the strike killed all six men on the boat. Trump described them as “six male narcoterrorists” and said that the boat was “affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization” and that it “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.
Trinidadian Families File Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Boat Strike by U.S. Military
— Charlie Savage (@charlie_savage) January 27, 2026
The case tests the Trump administration’s argument that its extrajudicial killings of people suspected of smuggling drugs at sea have been lawful.https://t.co/cwpxDQ8tMx
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The family said they were not notified that their family members lost their lives. They held memorial services after being informed about the airstrike and not hearing from their family members, NBC News reported.
Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are representing the families. They argue the airstrike violated the Death on the High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute.
The Trump administration began conducting airstrikes against boats in the Caribbean in September, claiming that they were carrying dangerous drugs to the U.S. The U.S. military has carried out at least 36 strikes that have killed about 126 people so far.
The administration has faced criticism from the Left and some on the Right over the airstrikes, with critics pointing out that they were carried out without due process or evidence that the boats were smuggling drugs.
However, the White House contends the airstrikes are necessary to prevent bad actors from poisoning Americans with fentanyl-laced narcotics.
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