ISTANBUL

The families of two Trinidadian nationals killed in a US missile strike on a boat traveling from Venezuela filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing the Trump administration of "murder" and "war crimes," demanding compensation and accountability for what they called “extrajudicial killings.”

"The October 14 attack was part of an unprecedented and manifestly unlawful US military campaign of lethal strikes against small boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean," the lawsuit states.

Lenore Burnley and Sallycar Korasingh filed the complaint on behalf of their relatives Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo, who were among six people killed when the US "authorized and launched a missile strike" against their vessel on Oct. 14, 2025.

Since September, Washington has launched 36 armed attacks against boats in international waters, killing an estimated 125 people, according to the court filing.

The strikes were not conducted "pursuant to any congressional authorization," the plaintiffs argue, noting that US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have "publicized videos of the boat strikes, boasting about and celebrating their own role in killing defenseless people."

The lawsuit asserts that these "premeditated and intentional killings lack any plausible legal justification."

The plaintiffs contend "there is no actual armed conflict that could justify the use of lethal military force against the boats," and even if there were, "these airstrikes would still be illegal" under established law.

The lawsuit was filed under the Death on the High Seas Act, Alien Tort Statute and general admiralty law, with sovereign immunity waived under the Suits in Admiralty Act.

Burnley, Joseph's mother, and Korasingh, Samaroo's sister, seek "pecuniary, compensatory and punitive damages" and demand "accountability for US officials' brazen acts."

The US has intensified military operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since September, citing efforts against narcotics trafficking.