The Trump administration has been slapped with a first-of-its-kind wrongful death lawsuit over its controversial, deadly airstrikes on dozens of boats traveling in the Caribbean Ocean.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, is on behalf of two Trinidadian men, Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, who were killed on Oct. 14 while returning from Venezuela to their homes in Las Cuevas, Trinidad and Tobago. Their boat was struck by a U.S. military strike ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump. At least 36 such strikes have been carried out by the Trump administration, killing at least 125 people.
Lawyers representing the families of Joseph and Samaroo note that Trump and Hegseth “publicly boasted about and published videos of the strikes,” touting the strike as a victory against so-called narco-terrorists smuggling illicit drugs into the United States. However, Trinidadian Foreign Minister Sean Sobers said his government had “no information linking Joseph or Samaroo to illegal activities.”
The suit is filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Center for Constitutional Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, and Professor Jonathan Hafetz of Seton Hall Law School.
“The Trump administration’s boat strikes are the heinous acts of people who claim they can abuse their power with impunity around the world,” Brett Max Kaufman, senior counsel at the ACLU, said in a press release. “In seeking justice for the senseless killing of their loved ones, our clients are bravely demanding accountability for their devastating losses and standing up against the administration’s assault on the rule of law.”
The families of Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo bring their claims under two federal statutes: the Death on the High Seas Act, a law that allows family members to sue for wrongful deaths occurring on the high seas, and the Alien Tort Statute, which allows foreign citizens to sue in U.S. federal courts for violations of well-recognized human rights norms.
“Chad was a loving and caring son who was always there for me, for his wife and children, and for our whole family. I miss him terribly. We all do,” said Joseph’s mother, Lenore Burnley. “We know this lawsuit won’t bring Chad back to us, but we’re trusting God to carry us through this, and we hope that speaking out will help get us some truth and closure.”
Sallycar Korasingh, Samaroo’s sister, said her brother was a “hardworking man” who was simply trying to “get back on his feet again” and make a “decent living” in Venezuela to provide for his family.
“If the U.S. government believed Rishi had done anything wrong, it should have arrested, charged, and detained him, not murdered him. They must be held accountable,” she said.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs note that the U.S. is not engaged in an armed conflict and call the Trump administration’s claims implausible.
“Even during wartime, these strikes would still be illegal under the laws of war, which constrain the indiscriminate and direct use of force against civilians and civilian vessels,” noted the ACLU.
The lawsuit accuses the U.S. government of conduct that was “deliberate, willful, intentional, wanton, malicious, oppressive, and/or in conscious disregard” for Joseph and Samaroo’s rights under international law. The plaintiffs are seeking punishment by an award of unspecified punitive damages.
