Civil rights attorneys have launched a groundbreaking federal lawsuit against the United States government, representing the grieving families of two Trinidadian men killed during a controversial military airstrike in the Caribbean Sea. The legal action, filed in Massachusetts federal district court, centres on the 14 October incident that claimed six lives and represents the first lawsuit of its kind connected to the Trump administration's maritime strike campaign.
Details of the Caribbean Incident
The lawsuit, shared exclusively with the Guardian, identifies the victims as Chad Joseph, aged 26, and Rishi Samaroo, aged 41, both residents of the small fishing community of Las Cuevas in Trinidad. According to court documents, the men were returning from Venezuela when their vessel was targeted by US military forces. This attack formed part of a series of operations against what the administration described as "go-fast boats" allegedly linked to cartels and criminal networks.
Legal Arguments and Precedents
The legal filing presents a stark condemnation of the military actions, describing them as patently lacking any plausible legal justification and constituting what attorneys characterise as "simply murder" ordered at the highest government levels. The case invokes admiralty law alongside the Alien Torts Act and the Death on the High Seas Act, creating a novel legal framework for addressing such incidents.
Jonathan Hafetz from Seton Hall University School of Law emphasised the unprecedented nature of this litigation, stating: "This is uncharted water. Never before in the country's history has the government asserted this type of power. This is a clear example of unlawful killing by the United States."
Broader Context of Maritime Strikes
The October strike represents just one incident within a broader pattern of military actions that have resulted in approximately 117 fatalities according to available records. The Trump administration maintained these operations' legality through a secret justice department opinion arguing the United States exists in an armed conflict with cartels, thereby applying laws of war to these maritime engagements.
Families Seek Justice
The plaintiffs include Lenore Burnley, mother of Chad Joseph, and Sallycar Korasingh, sister of Rishi Samaroo. In a powerful statement, Korasingh articulated her family's position: "If the U.S. government believed Rishi had done anything wrong, it should have arrested, charged, and detained him, not murdered him."
This lawsuit follows a separate human rights complaint filed in December by the family of Alejandro Carranza Medina, a Colombian national killed in another similar strike, submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Unanswered Questions and Official Response
Significant uncertainty surrounds the specific circumstances of the October attack. Following the incident, then-President Donald Trump posted social media content showing a stationary vessel suddenly engulfed in flames, claiming the strike targeted "six male narcoterrorists" affiliated with a designated terrorist organisation. However, the administration provided no substantiating evidence regarding alleged affiliations, nor confirmation of weapons or narcotics aboard the vessel.
The legal team, comprising attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, Seton Hall University, and the Center for Constitutional Rights, argues these strikes violate both domestic statutes and international law, particularly when conducted against civilian vessels in international waters far from United States territory.
