Families of Trinidadian men killed in US boat strike demand accountability

The Trump administration has killed at least 239 people in boat strikes that critics denounce as extrajudicial killings. Save Share The families of two missing men from the Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago have marked the one-year anniversary of their disappearance by calling for accountability from the United States. Since September last year, the US military has undertaken a campaign of attacking small boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, on the basis that they were transporting “narco-terrorists”. But critics have called the boat strikesan illegal campaignofextrajudicial killings. On Wednesday, the families of Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo issued a statement remembering the two men, who they said were killed in one of the US boat strikes on October 14, 2025. The families are currently pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit in the state of Massachusetts, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). They have argued that Joseph and Samaroo were fishermen and farm workers, not drug-traffickers. “The last year has been devastating without Chad in our lives. Chad was the heart of our family. He was loving, generous and caring and always there for us. We all miss him terribly,” said Joseph’s mother, Lenore Burnley. “A year later, we are still grieving and seeking justice for his death. We will always mourn losing Chad but hope that this lawsuit will be a step towards justice for him and the family.” Four other people were killed in the attack on October 14, 2025, when a missilestruck a vesselreturning to Trinidad and Tobago from nearby Venezuela. The families have said Samaroo and Joseph had been working in Venezuela to support their families. Both men called their families two days before embarking on the trip home to the islands. They were never heard from again. The boat strike campaign, launched under US President Donald Trump, has killed at least 239 people since September 2025. But the US government has provided little evidence to prove its claims that those on board were trafficking drugs. It has also not publicly identified the victims. In several cases — from Colombia to Ecuador to Trinidad and Tobago — relatives have stepped forward to say that their loved ones were among those killed, and that they werefishermenwith no connection to the drug trade....