Family members of two Trinidadian men killed in a U.S. military strike in October 2025 have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Trump administration, marking the first legal challenge to the Pentagon's Caribbean counter-narcotics operations that sank over 30 vessels and left 110 dead last year.
Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, were returning to Trinidad and Tobago from Venezuela on October 14, 2025, when their boat was targeted. Relatives claim the men were fishermen and farm workers, contradicting U.S. assertions that the vessel carried "narcoterrorists" linked to drug trafficking.
The lawsuit, filed January 27, 2026, in federal court by the ACLU and allied legal groups, accuses former officials of violating international law through extrajudicial killings. Legal experts note the case could set precedents for accountability in cross-border military operations.
This development comes as regional governments reassess security cooperation with foreign powers, while human rights advocates question the proportionality of lethal force in drug interdiction efforts.
