Families of Trinidadian men killed in US boat strike demand accountability

The Trump administration has killed at least 239 people in boat strikes that critics denounce as extrajudicial killings.

The families of two missing men from the Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago have marked the one-year anniversary of their disappearance by calling for accountability from the United States.

Since September last year, the US military has undertaken a campaign of attacking small boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, on the basis that they were transporting “narco-terrorists”.

But critics have called the boat strikes an illegal campaign of extrajudicial killings.

On Wednesday, the families of Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo issued a statement remembering the two men, who they said were killed in one of the US boat strikes on October 14, 2025.

The families are currently pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit in the state of Massachusetts, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). They have argued that Joseph and Samaroo were fishermen and farm workers, not drug-traffickers.

“The last year has been devastating without Chad in our lives. Chad was the heart of our family. He was loving, generous and caring and always there for us. We all miss him terribly,” said Joseph’s mother, Lenore Burnley.

“A year later, we are still grieving and seeking justice for his death. We will always mourn losing Chad but hope that this lawsuit will be a step towards justice for him and the family.”

Four other people were killed in the attack on October 14, 2025, when a missile struck a vessel returning to Trinidad and Tobago from nearby Venezuela.

The families have said Samaroo and Joseph had been working in Venezuela to support their families.

Both men called their families two days before embarking on the trip home to the islands. They were never heard from again.

The boat strike campaign, launched under US President Donald Trump, has killed at least 239 people since September 2025.

But the US government has provided little evidence to prove its claims that those on board were trafficking drugs. It has also not publicly identified the victims.

In several cases — from Colombia to Ecuador to Trinidad and Tobago — relatives have stepped forward to say that their loved ones were among those killed, and that they were fishermen with no connection to the drug trade.

Separately, the family of Colombian fisherman Alejandro Carranza has filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, accusing the Trump administration of violating his right to life when it allegedly bombed his boat on September 15, 2025.

Samaroo and Joseph’s lawsuit was filed in January and is being heard by a US federal court in the city of Boston, Massachusetts.

“Not a day goes by when our family doesn’t think about our brother Rishi,” said Sallycar Korasingh, Samaroo’s youngest sister.

“Rishi was a good person, loved by his family and community. The last year without him in our lives has been heartbreaking. My brother and family deserve justice. We will continue fighting for answers and the accountability we deserve.”

Legal scholars have noted that, even if those killed were involved in criminal activity, the strikes would still amount to extrajudicial killings.

Under international law, it is generally illegal to use military force for civilian law enforcement. Drug trafficking is not considered an act of war, but rather a civilian crime.

“For a year now, our clients have had to live without their loved ones and without justice in the name of President Trump’s lawless killing campaign,” said Jeff Stein, staff attorney with ACLU’s National Security Project.

The group is representing the families in their lawsuit, along with the Center for Constitutional Rights.

“These illegal strikes at sea have devastated countless families, terrified communities, and made us all less safe,” Stein said. “We won’t stop fighting for accountability. We urge leaders in both Congress and the executive branch to finally end this illegal campaign before anyone else is killed.”