A family is mourning a young man they say was killed in a U.S. military strike.

According to Reuters, 26-year-old Chad Joseph was one of several people who lost their lives this week after a U.S. aircraft attacked a small vessel in Caribbean waters. American officials have claimed the boats targeted in a recent wave of operations were carrying narcotics, but no proof has been made public.

Joseph’s family says those claims are not true. Relatives described him as a kind, quiet fisherman who went to Venezuela six months ago to earn money for his family. He was never involved in drugs, they insist, only in fishing and providing for his family.

“I’m feeling very hurt,” said his cousin, Afisha Clement, fighting back tears. “They took a father, a brother, an uncle, a nephew from us. If they say the boat had narcotics, then show us the evidence. We want proof. There is nothing.”

The strike that killed Joseph is one of several recent attacks on boats in the southern Caribbean. The U.S. has conducted at least six such operations in what it describes as an expanded campaign against regional drug trafficking. Officials say the strikes have killed 27 people so far, though they have released no names, nationalities, or details of what was found on the destroyed vessels.

Cecil McClean, Joseph’s 93-year-old great-uncle, called the attack “perfect murder.” He also added, “They can’t prove those boats were bringing drugs into our waters. How can they take lives and then give no explanation?”

Joseph’s mother, Lenore Burnley, said she learned about her son’s death only after seeing his name circulate online. According to her, no one from the Trinidad and Tobago government has reached out to her. “Nobody came to tell us anything,” she said. “All I can do is put it in God’s hands. He will give me my satisfaction.”

The lack of information has raised questions not only among grieving families but also among legal experts, who argue that these maritime strikes bypass international norms. Traditionally, suspected drug traffickers at sea are detained by the Coast Guard, not killed outright by military fire. 

Venezuelan officials have since called on the United Nations Security Council to review the legality of the attacks, arguing that civilian lives are being lost without due process.

Watch the interview with the family below: