Lawsuit filed in Boston federal court by victims’ relatives Families of Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, submitted a complaint on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, invoking the Death on the High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute to seek compensatory and punitive damages; representation includes the ACLU, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Seton Hall Law’s Jonathan Hafetz [1][2]. The filing names the mother of Joseph and the sister of Samaroo as plaintiffs and alleges the strike constituted an unlawful extrajudicial killing [1][2]. The complaint argues the men were civilians engaged in fishing, farming, and livestock work, not participants in hostilities [1][2].

Strike occurred on October 14 2025 during Operation Southern Spear The boat carrying the two Trinidadian men was hit off the coast of Venezuela, killing six men in total, including Joseph and Samaroo, while they were returning to Trinidad and Tobago after work [1][2]. U.S. officials described the target as a “narco‑terrorist” vessel involved in drug trafficking, part of a campaign that has executed at least 36 strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since September 2025, resulting in more than 120 deaths [1][2]. The Trump administration labeled the operation “Operation Southern Spear,” asserting the vessels were linked to designated terrorist organizations [2].

Legal claim centers on wrongful death and breach of international law Plaintiffs contend the victims were not engaged in armed conflict, making the strike a violation of the laws governing non‑international armed conflicts and therefore a wrongful killing [1][2]. The suit represents the first judicial test of the legality of U.S. strikes under the Death on the High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute [2]. Similar cases have been brought before the Inter‑American Commission on Human Rights, highlighting a growing pattern of legal challenges to the campaign [1].

U.S. government has not responded publicly to the filing The Department of Justice and the Department of Defense declined to comment before publication, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on social media that every trafficker killed is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization [2]. Congressional oversight committees have been reviewing the strike program since the first September attack, and military lawyers have expressed doubts about the legality of the operations [2]. Pentagon officials have not issued a statement regarding the Boston lawsuit [1].