Families sue US over deadly boat strike off Venezuela coast

BBC News - WorldCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete January 27, 2026 at 09:24 PM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

The families of two Trinidadian men, Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo, killed in a US strike on a boat off the coast of Venezuela on October 14th, have filed a lawsuit against the US government in Boston's federal court. The lawsuit, filed under the Death on the High Seas Act, alleges wrongful death, arguing the men were not engaged in hostilities against the US. The US has conducted at least 36 strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since September, resulting in over 120 deaths, claiming to target "narco-terrorists." The families assert the men were fishermen and farm workers returning to Trinidad and Tobago. The lawsuit follows a similar case filed by the family of a Colombian man with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Colombian 30% Boston 40% Pentagon 40% Sallycar Korasingh 50% Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 50% Trump administration 60% Venezuela ×270% Trinidad and Tobago ×270% Rishi Samaroo ×280% Chad Joseph ×280% United States ×790%

Keywords

deadly boat strike 90% wrongful death 80% lawsuit 80% us strike 70% death on the high seas act 70% narco-terrorists 60% international law 50% venezuela coast 40% trinidad and tobago 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.60

Source Transparency

Source

BBC News - World

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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deadly boat strike wrongful death lawsuit us strike death on the high seas act narco-terrorists international law venezuela coast trinidad and tobago

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