The U.S. Department of Justice announced that a Haitian national has been charged with smuggling firearms from the United States. Below is an official statement from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced the return of an indictment against Francesca Charles, 28, a U.S. citizen residing in Florida. Jacques Pierre, 32 years old. and his brother Jeff Pierre, 34, both Haitian nationals living in Florida, conspired to smuggle goods from the United States and illegally transport firearms, and conspired to smuggle goods from the United States and illegally transport firearms. If convicted, each person faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
In February 2025, authorities in the Dominican Republic seized 18 rifles, five handguns, firearm magazines, more than 36,000 rounds of ammunition and silencers from a container shipped from Miami, Florida, according to court documents. The shipping container was bound for Haiti. The shipment manifest did not list firearms or ammunition, but instead listed household items. Investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) learned that the defendants were the purchasers of at least 20 of the 23 firearms seized from shipping containers.
Through the investigation, investigators learned that the defendants purchased at least 46 firearms between May 2024 and February 2025, most of which were the same make and model as the firearms recovered in the Dominican Republic. Thirty-seven of these firearms were purchased between August 9, 2024 and February 10, 2025. Investigators also obtained records showing that Jacques Pierre purchased two Barrett .50 caliber rifles. It is a heavy-duty military weapon typically mounted on top of a vehicle and used to promote violence by gangs and cartels. One of the Barrett rifles was recovered in February 2025 in the aforementioned shipment.
Travel and transportation records show that the co-conspirators facilitated the shipment of firearms to Haiti shortly after purchasing large quantities of firearms, and then traveled to Haiti around the time the shipments were scheduled to arrive in Haiti. Travel records show the defendants traveled to the Dominican Republic three days before the shipping container was intercepted.
An indictment is simply a formal accusation that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This incident is being investigated by ATF and HSI, with assistance from the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince and the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Adams is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Reclaim America, a nationwide effort to mobilize the Department of Justice’s efforts to repel illegal immigration, achieve the complete eradication of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from perpetrators of violent crime.
