First wrongful death lawsuit filed against TRUMP administration over drug boat strikes

Wednesday, January 28, 2026-Families of two Trinidadian men killed in a U.S. military strike on a boat off the coast of Venezuela in October have filed the first wrongful‑death lawsuit against the Trump administration over its controversial campaign of “drug boat” strikes. 

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts by the relatives of Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo, accuses the government of wrongful death and extrajudicial killings, arguing the men were innocent fishermen returning home and not involved in narcotics trafficking. This marks the first legal challenge to a series of dozens of lethal strikes carried out by U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that have claimed more than 100 lives since September.

The complaint argues that the October 14 strike targeted a small vessel in international waters without proper justification under domestic or international law, and that Joseph and Samaroo posed no imminent threat that would warrant the use of lethal force. 

Lawyers representing the families, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights, are invoking the Death on the High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute to seek compensatory and punitive damages and to challenge the legal basis for the strikes. They contend that the campaign lacks congressional authorization and amounts to unlawful killings rather than legitimate counter‑narcotics action.

The lawsuit comes amid growing scrutiny of the administration’s strategy to target suspected drug‑smuggling vessels as part of a broader anti‑narcotics effort, a policy defenders argue is necessary to curb the flow of illicit drugs into the United States. 

Critics, however, have said the use of military force in this way risks violating the laws of armed conflict and could set a troubling precedent for military action absent clear legal and legislative backing. The case could have wide‑ranging implications for both U.S. counter‑narcotics policy and executive authority in military operations outside traditional war zones.