Families of Trinidadians Killed in U.S. Boat Strike Sue Trump Administration

The lawsuit says the U.S. government killed the two men without any “plausible legal justification.”

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters.

Evan Vucci/AP

Two families in Trinidad and Tobago sued the U.S. government on Tuesday, alleging the Trump administration unlawfully killed their relatives in one of its missile strikes on boats in the Caribbean.

The lawsuit says the Oct. 14 strike killed all six people on board, including 26-year-old Chad Joseph and 41-year-old Rishi Samaroo, who the lawsuit describes as workers who had been fishing and doing farm work in Venezuela and were headed home to Las Cuevas, Trinidad and Tobago.

The case is the first wrongful death lawsuit filed against the administration over a growing U.S. military campaign dubbed Operation Southern Spear that has targeted alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.