Trinidad Families Sue Trump Administration Over Alleged Unlawful U.S. Boat Strike Killings in Operation Southern Spear
Families of Trinidadian fishermen Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo have filed the first U.S. federal wrongful‑death suit (in Massachusetts) — brought by the ACLU and Center for Constitutional Rights — alleging the Oct. 14 U.S. missile strike off Venezuela that killed six was an unlawful, extrajudicial killing and seeking damages under the Death on the High Seas Act, the Alien Tort Statute and admiralty law while naming President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The filing comes amid a U.S. maritime campaign of roughly three dozen strikes since September 2025 that officials say target “narcoterrorists” (the administration defends the actions), even as Trinidad’s government says it has no information linking the victims to illegal activity; reporting also notes some operations used aircraft painted to resemble civilian planes.
📌 Key Facts
- Families of two Trinidadian men — Lenore Burnley (mother of Chad Joseph, 26) and Sallycar Korasingh (sister of Rishi Samaroo, 41) — have filed a wrongful‑death lawsuit in U.S. federal court in Massachusetts, brought by the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights; the suit is the first U.S. federal lawsuit challenging the administration’s campaign of lethal strikes on alleged drug‑smuggling boats.
- The complaint says Joseph and Samaroo were among six Trinidadian men killed by a U.S. missile strike on Oct. 14 off Venezuela while returning home; the families describe Joseph and Samaroo as fishermen/farm workers last heard from Oct. 12, and Trinidad’s government says it has no information linking them to drugs or weapons.
- Plaintiffs sue under multiple legal theories — Death on the High Seas Act wrongful‑death claim, the Alien Tort Statute (alleging extrajudicial killings outside an armed conflict), and general admiralty and maritime law — seeking compensatory and punitive damages and asking a court to declare and halt the boat‑strike campaign.
- The complaint expressly accuses top officials of responsibility, describing the Oct. 14 killings as “premeditated and intentional” and citing public videos and statements by President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as evidence of high‑level direction and involvement; CCR and ACLU lawyers have publicly denounced the campaign as unlawful.
- The strikes are part of a broader U.S. maritime campaign since early September 2025: reporting places the tally at roughly 35–36 strikes on alleged drug boats in South American and Caribbean waters, with more than 100 people killed (PBS updated the tally to 36 strikes and at least 117 killed), and many incidents drew public announcements and videos from U.S. Southern Command.
- Operational and reporting details are contested: CBS reported that a U.S. military aircraft used in the Sept. 2, 2025 attack was painted to resemble a civilian plane (Pentagon sources said the mock‑civilian paint was used because the operation came together quickly), while the White House has defended the campaign, with spokeswoman Anna Kelly and President Trump describing targets as “designated narcoterrorists” and asserting the strikes were authorized and effective.
- Other legal and political fallout includes a prior December complaint to the Inter‑American Commission on Human Rights over a separate victim, ongoing congressional war‑powers disputes over the campaign (including recent failed resolutions), and continued official silence or limited immediate response from some Pentagon and Justice Department officials.
📰 Source Timeline (10)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
January 27, 2026
10:52 PM
Families in Trinidad sue U.S. over boat strike: ‘They were simply murders’
New information:
- The complaint explicitly labels the Oct. 14 killings as 'premeditated and intentional' and 'simply murders' ordered by top officials, naming President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
- Plaintiffs’ counsel Baher Azmy of the Center for Constitutional Rights frames the case as an attempt to have a court declare the boat‑strike campaign illegal under a 'war on drugs' theory and to halt further strikes.
- The filing details how Joseph and Samaroo were Trinidadian fishermen and farmers working in Venezuela, last heard from Oct. 12 and believed killed while returning home, and notes Trinidad’s government says it has no information linking them to illegal activity.
- The suit lays out specific legal bases: the Death on the High Seas Act, the Alien Tort Statute, and general admiralty and maritime law, and seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages.
- The White House response, via Anna Kelly, doubles down on the 'designated narcoterrorists' framing and asserts Trump 'used his lawful authority' in the strike, underscoring the administration’s reliance on a wartime paradigm for the maritime campaign.
4:55 PM
Families of Trinidadian men killed in US strike sue Trump admin
New information:
- Confirms that at least two of the six Trinidadian men killed in the Oct. 14 strike were fishermen returning from Venezuela to Trinidad, according to the families’ allegation.
- States that the families characterize the strike as 'manifestly unlawful' and are suing for civil damages under a federal maritime law.
- Notes that Fox obtained no immediate response from the Pentagon or Justice Department, underscoring official silence so far.
4:22 PM
Families of 2 men killed in Caribbean boat strike sue U.S. government
New information:
- This CBS piece names two of the victims as Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, and details their backgrounds and family situations.
- It reproduces President Trump’s Truth Social justification for the Oct. 14 strike, quoting his claim that 'six male narcoterrorists' were killed and the boat was tied to narcoterrorist networks on a designated route.
- The article adds that Trinidad’s government has publicly stated it has 'no information' linking Joseph or Samaroo to illegal activities or possession of drugs or weapons, directly undercutting the administration’s framing.
- It notes the families are suing under both the Death on the High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute and that this is at least the second legal action, following a December complaint to the Inter‑American Commission on Human Rights over another victim, Alejandro Carranza Medina.
- It updates the scale of the campaign, saying the administration has carried out at least 35 missile strikes since September 2025, killing more than 100 people.
3:11 PM
Families of Two Men Killed in Boat Strikes Sue U.S.
New information:
- Families of Trinidadian fishermen Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, have filed a wrongful‑death lawsuit in U.S. court over an Oct. 14 U.S. missile strike that hit their boat off Venezuela, killing them and four others.
- The suit is brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights and is described as the first legal challenge to President Trump’s campaign of lethal strikes on alleged drug‑smuggling boats in Latin America.
- The complaint cites public videos and statements by President Trump and the defense secretary touting the boat strikes and their roles in the operations as evidence of high‑level responsibility.
3:03 PM
Families of killed men file first U.S. federal lawsuit over drug boat strikes
New information:
- Confirms the case is filed in federal court in Massachusetts and is the first U.S. lawsuit over the Venezuela‑area drug‑boat strikes.
- Names the specific plaintiffs and victims: Lenore Burnley (mother of Chad Joseph, 26) and Sallycar Korasingh (sister of Rishi Samaroo, 41), described as Trinidadian fishermen doing farm work in Venezuela.
- Details the precise legal theories: a Death on the High Seas Act wrongful‑death claim for negligence more than three miles offshore, and an Alien Tort Statute claim alleging extrajudicial killings outside an armed conflict.
- Quotes CCR legal director Baher Azmy calling the campaign 'killing for sport' and 'utterly lawless' and ACLU lawyer Brett Max Kaufman saying the families are standing up against 'the administration's assault on the rule of law.'
- Restates that the Trump administration has carried out roughly three dozen such strikes since September 2025, killing more than 100 people, and that Joseph and Samaroo, headed home to their families, are now presumed dead.
January 24, 2026
12:52 AM
U.S. forces carry out first known strike on alleged drug boat since Maduro's capture
New information:
- Confirms U.S. Southern Command publicly announced the latest strike on social media and released a video showing the targeted boat exploding in flames.
- Clarifies this is the first known lethal strike on an alleged drug boat since the Jan. 3 raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in Caracas.
- Updates the running tally to 36 known U.S. strikes on alleged drug‑smuggling boats in South American waters since early September, with at least 117 people killed, most in the Caribbean Sea.
- Notes that in the late‑December wave the U.S. struck five boats in two days, killing eight people and later ending Coast Guard search efforts.
- Includes Trump’s Davos claim that the maritime campaign has 'virtually stopped almost 100% of all drugs coming in by water,' a statement not supported by independent data in the piece.
January 23, 2026
11:36 PM
U.S. carries out 35th strike on alleged drug boat, first since Maduro capture
New information:
- Confirms this latest Eastern Pacific strike is the 35th such maritime strike since Sept. 2, 2025.
- Clarifies it is the first lethal maritime strike since former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured and brought to the U.S. on narco‑terrorism charges.
- Adds that the previous strike occurred Dec. 31, just days before Maduro’s capture.
- Connects the strike to ongoing congressional war‑powers battles, noting the House narrowly defeated a new Democratic‑led Venezuela war‑powers resolution the day before and that a prior Senate effort was procedurally blocked after White House lobbying.
10:43 PM
US forces strike vessel allegedly tied to narco-terror group killing 2 as crews search for lone survivor
New information:
- U.S. Southern Command confirms a new lethal kinetic strike on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific, allegedly operated by a designated terrorist organization and engaged in narco‑trafficking.
- Two suspected narco‑terrorists were killed and a third is missing but believed to have survived.
- USSOUTHCOM activated search‑and‑rescue assets to look for the lone suspected survivor.
- Command officials say the vessel was transiting along known narco‑trafficking routes and this is the first such strike since the U.S. operation that captured Nicolás Maduro.
January 14, 2026
7:08 PM
U.S. used painted aircraft resembling civilian plane in deadly Sept. 2 boat strike, sources say
New information:
- CBS confirms via U.S. officials that the Sept. 2, 2025 attack on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat was carried out by a U.S. military aircraft painted to resemble a civilian plane.
- Pentagon sources told CBS the mock‑civilian paint scheme was used because the operation came together quickly, not (they claim) to deliberately deceive targets.