Relatives of Fishermen Killed in the Caribbean Sue Trump Administration

Families of Two Trinidadian Citizens File Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over US Missile Strike
Relatives of two Trinidadian citizens killed in a US missile attack in the Caribbean have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Donald Trump administration. This litigation, the first of its kind, seeks justice for the brutality of an unauthorized military campaign that, under the pretext of a "war on drugs," has claimed over 120 lives in the Pacific and Caribbean since last September.

Details of the October 2025 Incident
The lawsuit's account states that Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo, two workers who made their living through fishing and agriculture in Venezuela, were returning to their home in Trinidad and Tobago on October 14, 2025, when a US missile struck their vessel.

"If the US government believed Rishi had done something wrong, they should have arrested, charged, and detained him, not murdered him," said Sallycar Korasingh, Samaroo's sister.

According to the lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Boston, the victims were civilians, not drug traffickers, and were casualties of a "manifestly illegal" operation. Baher Azmy, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights, described it bluntly: "These are illegal cold-blooded murders; murders for sport and murders to put on a show."

Legal and Political Context of the Attacks
The Trump administration, through its Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, has attempted to cloak these attacks in the language of the "law of armed conflict," claiming they target "armed groups." However, legal experts and human rights organizations have countered this narrative: drug cartels do not constitute, under international law, an armed group in the sense contemplated by the laws of war. More gravely, the US Congress never authorized this campaign of targeted killings in international waters, placing it in a legal and moral limbo.

Basis of the Lawsuit and Broader Implications
In this regard, the lawsuit relies on two US laws: the Death on the High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute of 1789. However, the case transcends the families' search for compensation. The Boston court will have to decide whether it considers legal the doctrine applied by Trump, under which Washington acts as judge, jury, and executioner in any corner of the globe, trampling the sovereignty of nations like Venezuela—in whose jurisdictional waters the attack occurred—and disregarding the right to life of citizens from Global South countries.

To date, the attacks on vessels, which began in September 2025, have resulted in over 120 deaths—episodes described by various experts as extrajudicial executions by the United States. The most recent incident was recorded on January 24, reportedly resulting in two deaths and a third crew member injured.