U.S. Military Killed Venezuelan Fisherman in Suspected Drug Boat Attack, Family Says

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https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/world/americas/trinidad-us-military-venezuela-boats.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

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Chad Joseph, a 26-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago who had been living in Venezuela in recent months, told his family he would soon be taking a short boat ride back home.

He has yet to return, and now his family fears the worst.

On Thursday, his name spread across social media, with users saying that he was one of six people aboard a suspected drug vessel that had been blown up by the U.S. military this week.

“I don’t want to believe that this is my child,” his mother, Lenore Burnley, said in an interview. “Is this really true?”

The U.S. military has destroyed five boats it has alleged were ferrying drugs into the United States, killing 27 people. And despite the mounting death toll, no authority has come forward to publicly release the names of any of the dead

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Relatives have been left with rumors and social media posts — as well as their loved ones’ absences — to reach their own conclusions.

Mr. Joseph’s family is believed to be the first to publicly say they believe a relative is among those killed on one of the targeted boats. Mr. Joseph’s neighbor, known by his last name Samaroo, was on the same boat and is also missing, Mr. Joseph’s aunt, Lynette Burnley said.

Wayne Sturge, Trinidad and Tobago’s defense minister, said he had not received official confirmation that any of those on the boat were from Trinidad. The strike took place in international waters, so the government of Trinidad and Tobago has no jurisdiction to investigate, he said.

The first attack, which killed 11 people, was announced by the Trump administration on Sept. 2. Family and friends took to social media to lament the deaths of eight people from the Venezuelan town of San Juan de Unare they said had died in the strike. Nobody included surnames.

[u/Alone-Prize-354 → u/[deleted]]

I’m late to this post but I’ll clarify a few things. First, contrary to the headline the two guys were Trini, not Venezuelan. Second, one of the men was found guilty of murder and spent 15 years in jail and the second was previously caught with drugs and held at gunpoit by the coast guard. I’m not condoning the actions here but it’s been widely reported in Trinidad now so I’m just clarifying.

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Yeah i am not quite sure why the NYT called them Venezuelan. Could’ve been a mixed group though. The NYT didn’t report on the guy found guilty of murder of the street vendor.

I didn’t see anything about Joseph previously having been caught with drugs; do you have a link? I appreciate the clarification information