Relatives of Two Men Killed in Airstrike Against Alleged Drug Vessel Sue U.S. Government for Wrongful Death

Starting in September of last year, the Trump administration approved dozens of military strikes against alleged drug boats in South America and the Caribbean, attacks that took the lives of at least 126 people.

According to different reports, at least 116 people were killed immediately in at least 36 attacks, while 10 others are presumed dead after searchers failed to recover their bodies following the strikes.

Since the first attack in September, the airstrikes have drawn heavy criticism from lawmakers and human rights organizations, which argue that in some cases the U.S. engaged in extrajudicial killings and failed to present valid proof that the targeted boats were carrying drugs or drug traffickers.

The strikes have now also been challenged in court, with new reports detailing that relatives of two Trinidadian men killed in an October airstrike are suing the U.S. government for wrongful death.

As noted by NPR, the case is the first lawsuit over the strikes to reach a U.S. federal court since the Trump administration launched its military operation in South America under the banner of combating drug trafficking organizations.

According to the lawsuit, relatives of Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, say the men were killed on Oct. 14 during an airstrike that President Donald Trump described as a "lethal kinetic strike."

In the filing, both Joseph and Samaroo are described as fishermen who had been doing farm work in Venezuela and had no ties to drug trafficking. Court records show they were heading home when the strike occurred and are presumed dead, NPR reported.

The lawsuit states that neither man posed a concrete or imminent threat of death or danger and that the use of lethal force could have been avoided during the operation.

The suit argues the strike violated the Death on the High Seas Act, which holds the U.S. government liable when negligence by its agents results in wrongful death more than three miles off American shores. A second claim alleges violations of the Alien Tort Statute, which allows foreign citizens to sue over human rights violations, including deaths occurring outside an armed conflict and without judicial process, NPR reported.

"In seeking justice for the senseless killing of their loved ones, our clients are bravely demanding accountability for their devastating losses and standing up against the administration's assault on the rule of law," said Brett Max Kaufman, senior counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the organizations representing the plaintiffs.

The military airstrikes targeting alleged drug boats came to a halt after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured alongside his wife, Celia Flores, on Jan. 3.

As reported by The Washington Post, only one boat strike has occurred since then, with U.S. forces shifting their focus to seizing oil tankers linked to Venezuela as part of the Trump administration's broader effort to take control of the country's oil.