BOSTON, Mass. — The families of two Trinidadian men killed in a U.S. missile strike last October filed a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday, accusing the Trump administration of carrying out unlawful killings in international waters and demanding accountability for what they describe as civilian deaths carried out without warning, justification or due process, according to an article by the American Civil Liberties Union.
“This lawsuit won’t bring Chad back to us,” said Lenore Burnley, the mother of 26-year-old Chad Joseph, in a statement included in the complaint. “But we’re trusting God to carry us through this, and we hope that speaking out will help get us some truth and closure,” the ACLU reported.
Joseph and Rishi Samaroo, 41, were killed Oct. 14 when a U.S. missile struck the boat they were traveling on while returning from Venezuela to Las Cuevas, Trinidad and Tobago. Four other people on the boat were also killed in the strike. According to the ACLU, none of the passengers were armed or engaged in hostile activity.
“Rishi used to call our family almost every day,” said his sister, Sallycar Korasingh. “And then one day he disappeared, and we never heard from him again.”
The ACLU alleges the strike was part of a broader campaign by the U.S. government to target civilian boats in international waters. Since September 2025, attorneys say, the U.S. has launched 36 missile strikes against civilian vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing at least 125 people.
“If the U.S. government believed Rishi had done anything wrong,” Korasingh said, “it should have arrested, charged and detained him, not murdered him. They must be held accountable.”
The ACLU reports the case was filed by Joseph’s mother and Samaroo’s sister on behalf of surviving family members. They are represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the ACLU of Massachusetts and legal scholars specializing in international law.
“The Trump administration’s boat strikes are the heinous acts of people who claim they can abuse their power with impunity around the world,” said Brett Max Kaufman, senior counsel at the ACLU. “In seeking justice for the senseless killing of their loved ones, our clients are bravely demanding accountability and standing up for the rule of law.”
The plaintiffs bring their claims under the Death on the High Seas Act, which allows families to sue for wrongful deaths occurring in international waters, and the Alien Tort Statute, which permits foreign citizens to bring claims in U.S. courts for violations of internationally recognized human rights.
In the complaint, attorneys reject the U.S. government’s assertion that it is engaged in an armed conflict that would justify the use of lethal military force.
“It is absurd and dangerous for any state to unilaterally proclaim that a ‘war’ exists in order to deploy lethal force,” said Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. “These are lawless killings in cold blood; killings for sport and killings for theater; and that is why we need a court of law to intervene.”
Lawyers argue in the article that even if the U.S. were engaged in an armed conflict, the strikes would still violate the laws of war, which prohibit indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian vessels.
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have publicly boasted about the strikes, at times releasing videos of missile impacts online. Attorneys argue those videos strip victims of their humanity.
“The victims have remained largely anonymous, seen only as specks on a screen,” the complaint states. “Their lives, families and stories have been erased.”
Officials in Trinidad and Tobago have disputed any suggestion that the men were involved in criminal activity. Foreign Minister Sean Sobers told a local news outlet after the strike that the government had “no information linking Joseph or Samaroo to illegal activities.”
Family statements included in the lawsuit describe Joseph as a devoted husband and father of three who regularly traveled to Venezuela for fishing and farm work to support his family.
“On October 12, Chad called his wife and told her he had found a ride home and would see her in a couple of days,” the complaint says. “On October 14, she and his mother saw reports of a boat strike on social media and began calling him over and over again. He never answered.”
Samaroo’s family described a similar pattern of sudden silence. Born in El Socorro, Trinidad, Samaroo supported his elderly parents, siblings and children through construction and fishing work. After his release on parole in 2024, he moved to Las Cuevas and later took farm work in Venezuela.
“He was taking care of goats and cows and making cheese,” Korasingh said. “He called us almost every day.”
In an Oct. 12 phone call, Samaroo told his sister he was returning home to Trinidad because their mother had fallen ill and he wanted to help care for her.
“That was the last time we heard from him,” Korasingh said.
The ACLU reports that because noncitizens are allowed to bring admiralty claims in any federal district, the lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts, a jurisdiction with a long history of maritime cases.
“Rishi and Chad wanted only to get home safely to their loved ones,” said Jessie Rossman, legal director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. “The unconscionable attack on their boat prevented them from doing so. It is imperative that we hold this administration accountable, both for their families and for the rule of law itself.”
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