Jan. 27 (UPI) -- The families of two Trinidadian men killed in a U.S. boat strike in the Caribbean sued the United States Tuesday for their wrongful deaths and extrajudicial killings.
Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, both of Las Cuevas, Trinidad and Tobago, were believed to have been on a boat that was attacked by the United States on Oct. 14. The two men haven't been heard from since. Four other men were killed on the boat, which was traveling from Venezuela to Trinidad.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narco-terrorist networks and was transiting along a known [designated terrorist organization] route," President Donald Trump said Oct. 14 in a Truth Social post.
Lawyers from the Center for Constitutional Rights, including Baher Azmy, the organization's legal director and a law professor at Seton Hall University, represent the plaintiffs.
"It is absurd and dangerous for any state to just unilaterally proclaim that a 'war' exists in order to deploy lethal military force," Azmy said in a statement. "These are lawless killings in cold blood; killings for sport and killings for theater, which is why we need a court of law to proclaim what is true and constrain what is lawless. This is a critical step in ensuring accountability, while the individuals responsible may ultimately be answerable criminally for murder and war crimes."
