The families of two men who went missing in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago are demanding accountability from the United States on the one-year anniversary of their disappearance.
Since September last year, the U.S. military has been conducting operations to attack small vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean on the grounds that they are transporting “narco-terrorists.”
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However, critics have criticized the boat strike as an illegal operation of extrajudicial killings.
On Wednesday, the families of Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo released a statement mourning the loss of their lives in one of the U.S. boat attacks on October 14, 2025.
The family is currently filing a wrongful death lawsuit in Massachusetts with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). They claimed that Joseph and Samaroo were fishermen and farm workers and not drug traffickers.
Joseph’s mother, Lenore Burnley, said: “This past year has been devastating without Chad in our lives. Chad was the heart of our family. He was loving, generous, caring and always there for us. We will all miss him so much.”
“One year later, we still grieve his death and seek justice. We will always grieve the loss of Chad, but we hope this lawsuit is a step toward justice for him and his family.”
In an attack on October 14, 2025, a missile struck a ship returning to Trinidad and Tobago from neighboring Venezuela, killing four other people.
Family members said Samaroo and Joseph were working in Venezuela to support their family.
Both men called their families two days before returning to the island. I never heard from them again.
Operation Boat Strike, launched under US President Donald Trump, has killed at least 239 people since September 2025.
However, the US government has provided little evidence to substantiate its claims that those on board were involved in drug trafficking. The identity of the victim has also not been made public.
In several cases, from Colombia to Ecuador to Trinidad and Tobago, relatives have come forward to say their loved ones were among those killed and that they were fishermen with no connection to the drug trade.
Separately, the family of Colombian fisherman Alejandro Carranza filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, accusing the Trump administration of violating his right to life when it allegedly blew up his boat on September 15, 2025.
Samaroo and Joseph’s lawsuit was filed in January and is being heard in federal court in Boston, Massachusetts.
“There is not a day that goes by that our family does not think about my brother Rishi,” said Samaroo’s youngest sister Sarika Kolasin.
“Rishi was a good man and loved by his family and community. This past year without him in our lives has been heartbreaking. My brother and his family deserve justice. We will continue to fight for answers and the accountability they deserve.”
Legal scholars point out that even if those killed were involved in criminal activity, the strikes still amounted to extrajudicial killings.
Under international law, the use of military force to enforce civil law is generally illegal. Drug trafficking is considered a civilian crime, not an act of war.
“For the past year, our clients have had to live without their loved ones and without justice in the name of President Trump’s campaign of wrongful killing,” said ACLU National Security Project Staff Attorney Jeff Stein.
The group, along with the Center for Constitutional Rights, is representing the family in the lawsuit.
“These unlawful attacks at sea destroy countless families, terrorize communities, and make us all less safe,” Stein said. “We will not stop fighting for accountability. We urge Congress and executive branch leaders to finally end this illegal campaign before anyone is killed.”
