At least 37 people have been killed in U.S. attacks on boats suspected of carrying drugs from South America. Stuck in the middle of the strikes is Trinidad and Tobago, a small island nation with a multimillion-dollar fishing industry and thousands of fishermen who now find themselves in the line of fire.

Port of Spain

Fishermen in Trinidad and Tobago are facing heightened fear and uncertainty following U.S. military operations in the Caribbean Sea. The family of Chad Joseph, a missing local fisherman, has not received official confirmation of his death but has seen images posted by U.S. President Donald Trump, who accused Joseph and another man of drug trafficking. The U.S. presence in the region is part of a campaign against drug traffickers, but local fishermen insist they are being unfairly targeted and stigmatized.

The situation has made it more difficult for fishermen to carry out their work, with many now staying close to shore out of fear. The prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago has publicly supported the U.S. actions, calling for violent measures against traffickers. However, concerns remain about due process and the appropriateness of lethal force. The fishing community is left anxious as they navigate the risks posed by both the drug trade and international military intervention.

U.S. strikes spread fear among Caribbean fishermen

Chad Joseph's family still isn't convinced that he's dead. And they struggled to mourn his loss at a funeral without a body. They've received no official notification from their government that he has been killed. All they know is that he went out on his boat nearly two weeks ago and hasn't been heard from since. What they do have are these images, posted on social media by Donald Trump. The U.S. president has accused 26-year-old Joseph and another Trinidadian man he was traveling with of being drug traffickers. Their presumed killing, the result of the U.S. presence in the Caribbean Sea, after the U.S. moved its warships to the region in what President Trump calls a war on drug traffickers. But Joseph's family insists that he was not involved in the drug trade. But even if he was, they aren't supposed to kill him. If he was running drugs, then hold him and charge him. But killing him? No way. Across Trinidad and Tobago, an island nation located just 11 kilometers from Venezuela, fishermen are dealing with the aftermath of the strikes. These waters are their lifeblood, but they've heard the news and seen the videos too. We are worried. We can't go far off the shore because Trump is just killing people. Look at this money. This is all from selling my fish today. I don't need to traffic drugs. But the country does lie on an important cocaine smuggling route through the region, and speedboats moving drugs do operate through these waters. As such, the White House is not the first to link these men to drug running. Fishermen here tell us they've long been stigmatized as being part of the drug trade, when in fact they're just trying to make a living. This most recent strike, of course, only reinforces that notion, while also making their day-to-day work that much more difficult now. Someone here just told us that these days they only go far enough to fish so that they can swim back if necessary. The prime minister, meanwhile, has expressed her support for Donald Trump's actions, even urging the U.S. to, quote, kill them all violently, referring to drug traffickers. I think it's early to tell how successful this particular strategy would be, but the main concern is that everyone is entitled to due process, and I just want to emphasize that the penalty for drug trafficking and human trafficking is not death. For Trinidadian fishermen, the situation is unnerving. From their usually quiet corner of the Americas, they now find themselves thrust into geopolitics and talk of war. Others just want to get back to fishing without the fear of a U.S. strike hanging over them. Giulia Galliano, Al Jazeera, Trinidad and Tobago.

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