Written By: Rebeca Puente Chavar
Since September 2025, the U.S. Government has carried out over 30 strikes targeting boats in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean, killing an estimated 125 people. On January 27, 2026, the family members of two men allegedly killed in these missile strikes filed suit against the government. This marks the first lawsuit of this sort filed against the U.S. government following these strikes.
I. Who are the Victims?
The two men killed by the strikes, and at the heart of this lawsuit, are Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, both from Trinidad and Tobago. It is alleged the two men were fishermen that frequently traveled to Venezuela for farm work. Mr. Joseph and Mr. Samaroo informed their respective families on October 12th they would be returning home on a boat in a couple of days.
On October 14, 2025, it is believed both men were on their way back from Venezuela on a boat struck by a missile strike, killing them and four others on board. Despite failed attempts by their families to confirm with the Trinidadian government whether the two men were aboard the destroyed boat, they have now concluded they are among the causalities from this strike as they have been unable to reach them since the strike. Mr. Joseph and Mr. Samaroo each left behind many family members including parents, siblings, and children. Since the strike, family members, as well as the Trinidadian Foreign Minister Sean Sobers, have confirmed neither of the men were members of a drug cartel or engaged in or linked to drug trafficking/other illegal activities.
II. Who are the Plaintiffs?
The plaintiffs bringing the suit are Ms. Lenore Burnely, Mr. Joseph’s mother, and Ms. Sallycar Korasingh, Mr. Samaroo’s sister. They bring this case on behalf of the surviving members of both of the men’s families. They are represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (”ACLU”) Foundation, ACLU Foundation of Massachusetts, Seton Hall Law School, and the Center for Constitutional Rights. As of the filing of the initial complaint, the counsel for the U.S. government had not been announced.
III. What does the lawsuit entail?
The families, represented by their respective counsel, filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. In it, they detail why the boat strikes, and the October 14 attack, are a “part of unprecedented and manifestly unlawful U.S. military campaign.” For the families, this attack, resulting in the killing of Mr. Joseph and Mr. Samaroo, lacks any plausible legal justification and is in violation of international law, regardless of whether there is any actual armed conflict. As such, the basis for this lawsuit, per the complaint, comes from general admiralty and maritime law, a body of law governing legal rights and obligations on navigable waters meant to sustain order and safety on international waters. The lawsuit brought in Massachusetts is significant as it has a long history of deciding admiralty cases, significant in this case.
The claims of wrongful death and extrajudicial killing are brought specifically under two federal statutes: the Death on High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute. The Death on the High Seas Act is an admiralty law that allows individuals to sue for the death of persons at sea due to negligence or a wrongful act, specifically more than 3 nautical miles from shore, and entitles them to financial compensation. The Alien Tort Statute is a statute that allows foreign citizens to sue in U.S. federal courts for violations of clearly defined and widely accepted international norms. Specifically, the complaint references the prohibition of the arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of the right to life, a internationally recognized human rights norm. For the families, this suit represents their attempt to demand accountability for what they see as brazen acts by the U.S. government in disregard of law and humanity that took away their family members.
IV. What is the U.S. Government’s response?
As of the time of filing of the lawsuit, the U.S. government, through the Pentagon or Department of Defense, had not yet responded to this lawsuit either in court or in the public sphere. Regardless, since the start of the strikes, the government has repeatedly defended the boat strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean as part of a legitimate military operation. This operation has been framed as a campaign aimed at stopping drug trafficking and “narco-terrorism” by aiming these strikes at the alleged transporting of drugs to the U.S. In early October 2025, the U.S. government declared the drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and asserted the U.S. was in an armed conflict in an effort to address the legality of the strikes and have since, repeatedly confirmed finding narcotics on the boats as they continued.
V. What’s next?
As of January 28, 2026, the last action by the court was an assignment to a judge in federal court. Where the lawsuit will proceed is very much up in the air as this is the first lawsuit of this sort to be filed over these strikes. Previous attempts by foreign citizens to sue the federal government for wrongful deaths have not generally been successful, such as in Hernandez v. Mesa where the Supreme Court affirmed foreign national are not protect by U.S. federal laws. However, the fact that the basis of this lawsuit is maritime law rather than domestic law may provide these families a unique avenue to have their claims addressed and set a new precedent considering unprecedented strikes by the U.S. government.
Sources
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