Legal Battle Unfolds Over U.S. Airstrikes on Venezuelan Waters
In a landmark legal challenge, the families of Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo, two men from Trinidad, are taking the U.S. government to court, accusing it of wrongful death and extrajudicial killings. The case, which could set a significant precedent, was filed in Massachusetts following the men’s deaths in an October airstrike.
The lawsuit marks the first federal court challenge of its kind since the Trump administration initiated a series of strikes targeting vessels near Venezuela. This campaign, which began in September, has resulted in over 100 fatalities across three dozen strikes.
Chad Joseph, aged 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, were reportedly caught in what President Trump described as “a lethal kinetic strike” on October 14, 2025. The incident was highlighted by a social media post from the president, showing a missile hitting a ship, which then burst into flames.
According to the lawsuit, both men were fishermen who were working in Venezuela at the time, with no involvement in drug trafficking. Their families claim they were returning home when the strike occurred, and they are now presumed dead. Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, criticized the strikes as “killing for sport” and “utterly lawless.”
The White House and Pentagon maintain the strikes are part of a strategic effort to curb illegal drug flows into the U.S. However, the Pentagon has refrained from commenting on the ongoing litigation.
The lawsuit argues that Joseph and Samaroo posed no immediate threat and that non-lethal methods could have been utilized. Lenore Burnley and Sallycar Korasingh, relatives of the deceased men, filed the suit, citing the Death on the High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute. These laws allow for claims against the U.S. government in cases of negligence or human rights violations outside of armed conflict zones.
Representing the plaintiffs are the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Jonathan Hafetz from Seton Hall University School of Law. Brett Max Kaufman, senior counsel at the ACLU, stated, “In seeking justice for the senseless killing of their loved ones, our clients are bravely demanding accountability for their devastating losses and standing up against the administration’s assault on the rule of law.”
This case has drawn attention from U.S. lawmakers, who have been questioning the legal justification for these strikes for several months. Despite this, the administration has continued its operations unabated.
—NPR’s Quil Lawrence contributed to this report.
