Trump boat strike campaign kills 220, families seek answers

September 2, 2026 at 10:35 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

The US military has killed more than 220 people in boat strikes across the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since September 2, 2025. Families of missing fishermen in Saint Lucia say their loved ones were not narcotics traffickers and have received no answers from authorities.

Key Facts

Since September 2, 2025, the Trump administration has carried out dozens of bombings against unidentified vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, killing more than 220 people.
On February 13, fisherman Joseph “Nathy” William went fishing with Ricky Joseph, a father of four, and neither returned home.
The US military released drone footage of a strike on a small vessel in the Caribbean Sea that same day, saying it killed suspected narcotics traffickers.
Ricky Joseph was the sole breadwinner for his partner Lucillia Charles and their children, earning a few thousand dollars a year from fishing.
Experts say the strikes likely amount to extrajudicial killings, which are illegal under international law.

The Strike Campaign

Since September 2, 2025, the administration of President Donald Trump has carried out dozens of bombings against unidentified vessels in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific. The strikes have killed more than 220 people the administration labels as “narcoterrorists”. In each case, there has been no court filing, no trial, and no public effort to identify the victims. Experts say the strikes likely amount to extrajudicial killings, which are illegal under international law.

Families of the Missing

Rayshawn Charlery last saw his father, fisherman Joseph “Nathy” William, a week before his disappearance in February. On February 13, William went fishing with Ricky Joseph, a father of four, and neither returned home. That same day, the US military released black-and-white drone footage of a strike on a small vessel in the Caribbean Sea, saying it had killed suspected narcotics traffickers. Charlery fears the slender boat may have been the fishing vessel his father was using, and says his father was not a drug smuggler. Ricky Joseph’s brother Titus identified the boat in videos of wreckage circulating online, saying, “I said that’s my little brother that was captaining the boat.”

Lack of Accountability

Neither Charlery nor Lucillia Charles, Ricky Joseph’s partner, was able to get answers from local authorities or the US government about what happened to their loved ones. Ricky Joseph was the sole breadwinner for Charles and their children, earning a few thousand dollars a year from fishing. Other families that Fault Lines approached would not speak publicly, for fear of repercussions.