Families Sue U.S. Government Over Fatal Missile Strikes on Suspected Drug Vessels

The families of two Trinidadian men killed in a U.S. military missile strike last year have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the United States government. The case, filed Tuesday in a federal court in Massachusetts, is the first to challenge the Trump administration’s policy of targeting suspected drug smuggling boats in international waters.

The lawsuit concerns the deaths of Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, who were among six people killed when a U.S. missile struck a boat in the Caribbean on October 14. At the time, President Donald Trump described the casualties as “six male narcoterrorists” on a vessel allegedly transporting drugs from Venezuela.

The complaint, brought by Joseph’s mother and Samaroo’s sister with representation from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights, accuses the U.S. of “unlawful killings” and “extrajudicial killings.” It argues the men were not affiliated with drug cartels but were merely hitching a ride back to Trinidad from Venezuela, where they had been working.

“The United States has yet to release any evidence supporting its claims that the targeted boats have links to drug cartels,” the filing states. “These premeditated and intentional killings lack any plausible legal justification.”

The families are seeking punitive damages under the Death on the High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute. This legal action follows a separate complaint lodged in December with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights by the family of a Colombian fisherman killed in a similar strike in September.

Baher Azmy, legal director at the Center for Constitutional Rights, called the strikes “lawless killings in cold blood.” The lawsuit marks a significant step toward accountability for a campaign of missile strikes that has reportedly left at least 125 people dead since September.