Family of St. Lucia fishing boat captain seeks answers after deadly US strike in Caribbean

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PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) — Relatives of a boat captain from the eastern Caribbean island of St. Lucia told The Associated Press on Thursday that he has been missing since a recent U.S. strike on a suspected drug vessel in the region.

They fear that Ricky Joseph, a 35-year-old father of four, was killed because they said they have not had any contact with him since the Feb. 13 strike, the latest in a series of attacks targeting alleged drug smugglers that have also killed fishermen in the Caribbean, angering many in the region.

Titus Joseph said he last spoke to his younger brother two days before the strike. After hearing fishermen describe the boat they believe was targeted in the strike, Titus Joseph said he feared his brother had been killed.

“From the time they told me that the inside of it was red and black and green, I then said, ‘if that’s the boat that blew up, that’s the boat my brother went out to sea on,’” Titus Joseph told the AP in a phone interview.

He said that Ricky Joseph lived in Vieux Fort on the southern tip of St. Lucia, and that he worked as a fishing boat captain for most of his life.

The U.S. military said three narco-terrorists were killed in the Feb. 13 strike. Titus Joseph dismissed claims that his brother was involved in drug trafficking or any other criminal activity.

“That man never got arrested,” Titus Joseph said.

Ricky Joseph’s family members have since filed a missing person report following his disappearance.

What was left of a severely damaged boat has since washed ashore in St. Lucia, and local police said they have taken custody of the vessel. However, police would not confirm whether the damaged boat was the one targeted in the strike.

On Thursday, the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines said the strike happened in its waters as it warned fishermen to be cautious at sea. The archipelago is located just south of St. Lucia.

The strikes began in early September and have killed at least 151 people as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump targets those it calls “narcoterrorists” in small vessels.

The latest strike in Caribbean waters occurred on Monday, killing three people, according to the U.S. military.