Families of two Trini men killed in US missile strike off Venezuela file wrongful death lawsuit in Boston

Trinidad and Tobago: The families of two Trinidadian men who were killed in the  US missile strike last year in October have filed a lawsuit against the government of US and are alleging the wrongful death and extrajudicial killing.

The case was filed on January 27, in the US district court for Massachusetts in Admiralty by Lenore Burnley, the mother of 26-year-old Chad Joseph and Sallycar Korasingh, the sister of 41-year-old Rishi Samaroo, through the lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

According to reports, the lawsuit was filed following the wrongful death of Joseph and Samaroo who were among six people killed in the US military missile strike in waters that occurred on October 24, 2025.

It is alleged that the strike took place when a small civilian boat was returning to Trinidad and Tobago from Venezuela carrying men who were returning to their home.

The reports also claimed that the lawsuit involved a broader view or aspect of the families targeting the relief and justice for their loved ones, as according to this case the attack was broadly targeting civilian boats in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean.

Also at least 36 strikes took place last year since September 2025, which resulted in the death of minimum 125 people.

According to the families of the deceased, they are seeking justice through this lawsuit as they know that this will not bring back their loved ones but can prevent or save other’s children or loved ones from such attacks.

In a statement, the mother of Chad Joseph stated that “my son was a wonderful human being who loved his mother, his wife and children. We know this will not bring back my son but we are trusting God who helped us endure those difficult days and will also help us again by providing us justice and closure.”

Along with this Korasingh, the sister of 41-year-old Rishi also gave a statement in which she described her brother as a hardworking man while claiming that “Rishi was innocent, he never did any wrongful act but if the US government believed that he did wrong they should have just detained or arrested him not killed him.”

She also stated “my brother used to call us everyday and we were used to it but one day he just disappeared with no calls, no messages, nothing maybe because he was killed by those people. We just want justice and hold accountable whoever were involved in that.”

The lawyers from  the ACLU also claimed that, just before Joseph’s death, he used to live with his wife and three children in Las Cuevas from where he usually travelled to Venezuela for fishing and agricultural purposes to support his family. On October 12, he left his home but never returned, leaving his family alone.

Prof Jonathan Hafetz further commented on this case while warning the US government’s actions, as he said “this lawsuit highlights the broader implementations of foreign laws, just because you are in power you cannot kill anyone.”

Answering to which the Attorney General John Jeremie, said on January 14, that “all the strikes were legal and were carried out under the laws, and I don’t know about any T&T citizens who were killed in any strike.”