Families of two Trinidad and Tobago nationals killed in an October airstrike have filed a lawsuit against the United States government, alleging wrongful death and extrajudicial killings.
According to court documents filed on Tuesday, the families of Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo claim the October 14 strike was part of an unlawful U.S. military campaign targeting small boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
The lawsuit states the men were fishing off the Venezuelan coast and were returning home when their vessel was struck.
President Donald Trump had said the strike killed “narco-terrorists” aboard a boat linked to a designated terrorist organization.
However, the lawsuit argues the strike occurred outside an active armed conflict and therefore violated international human rights law.
The families allege breaches of the Death on the High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute and are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
The Pentagon declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.
