Table of Contents
- U.S. Military’s Controversial Drug Boat Strikes
- Chad Joseph Identified as First Known Victim
- Family Denies Trafficking Allegations
- Legal and Ethical Questions Mount
- Regional Reactions and Government Secrecy
- Sources
U.S. Military’s Controversial Drug Boat Strikes
In a series of unprecedented operations, the U.S. military has destroyed five boats it claims were smuggling narcotics into the United States—killing 27 people in the process. Until now, none of the victims had been publicly identified. But that changed this week when a Trinidadian family came forward to say their relative, Chad Joseph, was among those killed.
The strikes, first announced by President Trump on September 2, mark a dramatic shift in U.S. counter-narcotics strategy. Rather than intercepting and boarding suspected vessels—as the U.S. Coast Guard has done for decades—the military is now using lethal force in international waters without arrests, trials, or public identification of the dead.
Chad Joseph Identified as First Known Victim
Chad Joseph, a 26-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago who had been living in Venezuela, told his family he was returning home via a short boat trip from the Venezuelan coast. He never arrived.
After his name began circulating on social media alongside reports of a recent U.S. strike that killed six men, his mother, Lenore Burnley, confirmed her worst fears. “I don’t want to believe that this is my child,” she told The New York Times. “Is this really true?”
Joseph’s aunt, Lynette Burnley, said his neighbor, Samaroo, was also on the boat and remains missing. The family believes both men were fishermen, not traffickers.
Family Denies Trafficking Allegations
President Trump claimed the men were “smuggling drugs” but provided no evidence. The Joseph family strongly rejects that characterization.
“He was a fisherman. That’s all he ever did,” said Lenore Burnley. “You don’t just blow up a boat without stopping it first. The law of the sea says you intercept—not destroy.”
Experts note that the northern coast of Trinidad is a known transit zone for Colombian cocaine moving through Venezuela. But they also emphasize that many local fishermen operate in the same waters, making mistaken identity a serious risk.
Legal and Ethical Questions Mount
International law experts are raising alarms. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, naval forces may board and inspect suspicious vessels—but deliberate lethal strikes on civilian boats are prohibited unless in self-defense.
“This isn’t law enforcement—it’s extrajudicial killing,” said Dr. Amara Singh, a human rights law professor at Columbia University. “Even if the targets were traffickers, they’re entitled to due process. You can’t just bomb them.”
The U.S. military has not released the names of any of the 27 deceased, nor has it provided forensic evidence or independent verification of drug cargo on the destroyed vessels.
Regional Reactions and Government Secrecy
Venezuela’s government has remained largely silent, likely to avoid provoking the U.S. amid heightened military tensions in the Caribbean. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez claimed last month that Caracas “does not know the nationality” of those killed.
In Colombia, President Gustavo Petro acknowledged that Colombians may have died in the strikes but offered no names. Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago’s defense minister, Wayne Sturge, said his government has no jurisdiction because the attacks occurred in international waters.
Back in Las Cuevas—the quiet fishing village where Joseph grew up—residents are grieving in silence. With no official confirmation and no bodies recovered, families are left with rumors, social media posts, and unbearable uncertainty.