Trinidad and Tobago probes deaths in US airstrike near Venezuela
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Trinidad and Tobago authorities are investigating if two of its citizens were killed in a US airstrike on a boat allegedly smuggling drugs from Venezuela.
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Screengrab taken from US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's social media account showing the US operation against a vessel off the Venezuelan coast on October 14, 2025. (X/@PeteHegseth)
Authorities in Trinidad and Tobago have launched an investigation into whether two of its nationals were among six individuals killed in a United States airstrike on a vessel allegedly transporting drugs from Venezuela, police told AFP on Thursday.
According to US President Donald Trump, the strike targeted "narcoterrorists" operating in international waters, accusing them of attempting to smuggle narcotics from Venezuela to the United States. No evidence has been provided to support the claim.
Police in Trinidad and Tobago said residents of Las Cuevas village reported that two locals were believed to have been aboard the sunken boat. However, their deaths have not yet been confirmed by authorities.
Among those feared dead is 26-year-old Trinidadian fisherman Chad Joseph. His mother, Lenore Burnley, told AFP by phone that relatives in Venezuela informed the family that he was on the vessel.
"According to maritime law, if you see a boat, you are supposed to stop the boat and intercept it, not just blow it up. That's our Trinidadian maritime law and I think every fisherman and every human knows that," she stated.
Read more: Trinidad PM threatens force against Venezuelan vessels
Burnley added that her son had been staying with family in Venezuela, just 11 kilometers away, and was planning to return to Trinidad and Tobago.
Local media also identified a second possible victim from Las Cuevas, known to residents as Samaroo.
https://t.co/AYyPZuUsm9 pic.twitter.com/1gY3vBnvqa
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) October 14, 2025
Venezuela reacts to US military actions
In response to the US military buildup in the region, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday ordered large-scale military exercises, stating that the army, police forces, and a civilian militia would be mobilized to defend the country from foreign aggression.
The airstrike is one of several recent attacks carried out by the United States near Venezuelan waters. At least 27 individuals have been killed in similar incidents, which the Trump administration claims are part of efforts to combat drug trafficking networks operating between Venezuela and the US.
The targeting of a civilian vessel and the possible deaths of foreign nationals have raised questions about the legality of such operations under international and Trinidadian maritime law.
Read more: US approves covert CIA action in Venezuela: Reports
On Tuesday, October 14, the US targeted a vessel off the coast of Venezuela with an airstrike, killing six and marking the fifth operation of this kind in a recent push of American aggressions against Latin America under the excuse of combating narco-trafficking.
Trump stated in a Truth Social post announcing the operation that the vessel was “affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization," adding that "Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks, and was transiting along a known DTO route."
To date, the death toll as a result of such attacks has risen to at least 27, and neither Trump nor other heads in the US state department released information as to who those on board these vessels were, nor did they confirm the alleged ties it had with narco trafficking networks.
