These Trinidadian fishermen were killed in a US boat attack. Now their families are suing.

When the United States launched its first deadly attack on a boat off the coast of Venezuela last September, Chad Joseph called his wife to assure her they were not on board.

But a month later, the Trinidadian fatherIn r, the three men were killed in another strike.

Joseph, 26, often worked as a farmer and fisherman in nearby Venezuela. In the year He and his colleague Rishi Samaro, 41, are believed to have been among six killed in a US airstrike on a small ship in the southern Caribbean on October 14, 2025.ea headed to Trinidad and Tobago.

Now, the families of both men are suing the US government for their wrongful death.

“This was a premeditated and deliberate killing outside the context of war, which makes it murder, plain and simple,” said Jeffrey Stein, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) representing the families. As it happens Host Nil Köksal.

“We will try to show the true humanity of these horrific murders and seek justice for the family members.”

126 have been killed so far.

The charge Lenore Burnley, Joseph’s mother, and Salikar Corasing, Samaro’s sister, at the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights.

It is the first legal challenge by the administration of US President Donald Trump since September, when at least 126 people were killed in 36 deadly cruise attacks in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean.

The US government claims that the people killed on these boats were “narco-terrorists” without providing any evidence.

In a statement, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said, “President Trump has used his legal authority to take decisive action to address the harm caused by illegal drugs that are causing needless deaths for Americans.”

But Joseph and Samro’s families say they were regulars traveling to the Trinidadian fishing village of Las Cuevas.

“Chad and Rishi were not affiliated with or affiliated with any drug gangs,” Stein said.

“Our complaint makes it clear that regardless of the allegations that the victims of these deadly strikes are engaged in drug trafficking, all of these strikes are illegal.”

Who were Joseph and Samara?

According to the indictment, Joseph often spent weeks or sometimes months in Venezuela fishing or farming and sending money. Home for his familyily, which is a common way of making a living for men in Las Cuevas.

Stein described Joseph’s mother as “a kind boy who was always there for his family and friends.”

When he is not at work, according to the lawsuit, he calls his common-law wife every day. They talked about US attacks in recent weeks.

“As reports of U.S. military attacks on boats in the Caribbean dominated the news in the region, Mr. Joseph’s fear of making the return trip grew,” the suit reads. But he was determined to return to his wife and children as soon as possible.

On October 12, Joseph called his wife to tell her that he had found a ferry to Las Cuevas and would be home in two days.

That was the last she heard from him.

Samaro, who sometimes worked with Joseph, lived and worked on a farm in Venezuela as of 2024, the indictment says.

His job was to take care of animals and make cheese. He often texted his family selfies on the farm with dogs, goats and cows.

But when his old mother fell ill, he decided to return home to take care of her.

He called his sister in Corasing on October 12 to tell her he was getting a boat ride home, then sent a picture of him wearing a life jacket.

His family never heard from him again.

“If the US government believed Rishi had done anything wrong, they should have arrested, prosecuted and jailed him, not killed him,” Corasing said in a statement about her brother’s murder.

They must be held accountable.

Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago He supported the American attack. But the Trinidadian government says it has no information linking Joseph or Samaro to illegal activities, and has seen no evidence that any of the strike victims were found to be in possession of illegal drugs or weapons.

War on drugs

The Trump administration orchestrated the raids at the direction of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hughes as part of its war on drug cartels, which it says are armed groups.

He said the attacks violated international laws known as the laws of war, or the law of arms.

Stein says it’s waterproof.

“It’s really stupid under any legal framework,” he said. “There is no armed conflict between the United States and any Latin American drug gang that warrants the use of lethal force against small boats in the Caribbean or the eastern Pacific.

Luis Moreno Ocampo, the founder of the International Criminal Court, said. As it happens In December That drug trafficking is a crime, not an act of war.

“Killing these people is a crime against humanity, because they are civilians.”

The suit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, seeks only compensation from the US government for the deaths of the two men, not an injunction to prevent further attacks.

Still, Stein says ending the strikes is part of the goal.

“We hope to prove that what the Trump administration is doing is patently illegal.