The families of two missing men from Trinidad and Tobago have marked the one-year anniversary of their disappearance by calling for accountability from the United States. Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo were reportedly killed in a US military boat strike on October 14, 2025, during a campaign targeting small boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, which the US military claims were transporting 'narco-terrorists.' Critics have described these strikes as extrajudicial killings.
The families are pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit in Massachusetts, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), arguing that Joseph and Samaroo were fishermen and farm workers, not drug traffickers. Joseph’s mother, Lenore Burnley, expressed the family's grief, stating, 'The last year has been devastating without Chad in our lives. Chad was the heart of our family.'
The attack on October 14, 2025, resulted in the deaths of four others when a missile struck a vessel returning to Trinidad and Tobago from Venezuela. The families noted that both men had been working in Venezuela to support their families and had contacted their relatives two days before the incident.
Since the campaign began under President Donald Trump, it has resulted in at least 239 deaths, but the US government has not provided substantial evidence to support its claims regarding the victims' involvement in drug trafficking. Many relatives have come forward, asserting that their loved ones were innocent fishermen.
In a separate case, the family of Colombian fisherman Alejandro Carranza has filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleging that the US government violated his right to life when it bombed his boat on September 15, 2025.
The lawsuit filed by Samaroo and Joseph’s families is currently being heard in a US federal court in Boston. Sallycar Korasingh, Samaroo’s sister, stated, 'Not a day goes by when our family doesn’t think about our brother Rishi. We will continue fighting for answers and the accountability we deserve.'
Legal experts have indicated that even if those killed were involved in criminal activities, the strikes could still be classified as extrajudicial killings under international law, which generally prohibits the use of military force for civilian law enforcement. Jeff Stein, a staff attorney with the ACLU, emphasized the need for accountability, stating, 'These illegal strikes at sea have devastated countless families, terrified communities, and made us all less safe.'