Relatives of two Trinidadian men killed in a U.S. airstrike off Venezuela's coast have filed the first federal lawsuit against the government in Massachusetts. The suit accuses the Trump administration of wrongful death and extrajudicial killings in a campaign that has targeted dozens of vessels since September. The plaintiffs deny any drug trade involvement by the victims.
In October 2025, the U.S. launched a series of airstrikes against alleged drug boats off Venezuela, part of a broader effort under President Trump to curb narcotics trafficking. On October 14, a strike killed Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, both from Trinidad. Trump described the action as "a lethal kinetic strike" and shared a video on social media showing a missile hitting a ship, which burst into flames.
The families of the deceased filed suit in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, marking the first such case in federal court since the campaign began. They claim violations of the Death on the High Seas Act, a 1920 law holding the government liable for negligence causing death beyond three miles from U.S. shores, and the Alien Tort Statute, which permits suits by foreign citizens for human rights abuses outside armed conflicts without due process.
According to the lawsuit, Joseph and Samaroo were fishermen engaged in farm work in Venezuela, with no connections to drugs, and were returning home when struck. The filing states neither posed "a concrete, specific, and imminent threat of death or serious physical injury" and that non-lethal options existed.
Baher Azmy, legal director at the Center for Constitutional Rights, called the strikes "killing for sport, it's killing for theater and it's utterly lawless." He added, "We need a court of law to rein in this administration and provide some accountability to the families."
The White House defended the operations. Deputy press secretary Anna Kelly stated, "The October 14th strike was conducted against designated narcoterrorists bringing deadly poison to our shores." She noted Trump's use of "lawful authority" against narcotics causing American deaths.
The Pentagon offered no comment on the litigation. The U.S. has conducted about three dozen strikes since September, resulting in over 100 deaths. Lawmakers have questioned the legal grounds, but the administration continues.
Representing the plaintiffs—Lenore Burnley, Joseph's mother, and Sallycar Korasingh, Samaroo's sister—are the ACLU, Center for Constitutional Rights, and Seton Hall's Jonathan Hafetz. ACLU senior counsel Brett Max Kaufman said, "In seeking justice for the senseless killing of their loved ones, our clients are bravely demanding accountability... and standing up against the administration's assault on the rule of law."
