They shipped high-powered ammo, guns to Haiti from Miami, federal prosecutors say

Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald on Jan 6, 2026

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Months after authorities in the Dominican Republic intercepted a Haiti-bound cache of ammunition and firearms, including a high-powered military-grade machine gun, three Floridians are now facing federal charges for their alleged roles in the trafficking scheme.

Francesca Charles, 28, a naturalized U.S. citizen, and brothers Jacques Pierre, 32, and Jeff Pierre, 34, both citizens of Haiti, have been charged with conspiracy to smuggle goods and unlawfully ship firearms, smuggling goods from the United States and unlawfully shipping firearms. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

Prosecutors say the trio shipped more than 36,000 rounds of ammunition and dozens of firearms to Haiti, including two Barrett .50-caliber sniper rifles.

One of the Barrett rifles was seized by Dominican authorities after it departed the Miami River on Feb. 13, 2025. It was buried inside a shipping container alongside a silencer, an Uzi submachine gun and tens of thousands of bullets of different calibers. The shipment was seized at the Haina Oriental Port just outside of Santo Domingo.

None of the weapons were listed on the shipping manifest, which itemized 134 goods and stated they were “in transit to Haiti,” according to the document obtained by the Miami Herald at the time.

After the seizure, Haitian police arrested Guitho Senat, who was listed on the shipping documents as the receiver of the cargo in Haiti. A resident of Belladère, in central Haiti, Senat was arrested in the nearby city of Hinche on charges of arms trafficking.

Police also launched a search for a Haitian woman and business owner in her 50s, who is believed to be the mother of the Pierre brothers. The two men were arrested in Haiti, according to Haitian media. Of the three, only Charles is shown to be in the custody of U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

In the wake of the seizure, Haitian authorities banned in-transit cargo through the Dominican Republic. Shortly afterward, armed gangs attacked the nearby city of Mirebalais, which remains under gang control.

According to federal court documents, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as well as Homeland Security Investigations learned that the defendants were the purchasers of at least 20 of 23 firearms from the shipping container seized by Dominican authorities in February 2025. The container had 18 rifles, five handguns, firearms magazines, over 36,000 rounds of ammunition and a silencer that had been shipped from Miami.

“It was part of the conspiracy that the defendants would obtain firearms from federally licensed firearms dealers and then caused those firearms to be shipped surreptitiously to the Dominican Republic and Haiti,” the court documents said.

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, a press release on the charges said. The bulk of those firearms, 37, were purchased between Aug. 9, 2024, and Feb. 10, 2025.

Prosecutors said the defendants separately purchased firearms from at least five different federally licensed dealers and another person arranged for the weapons to be shipped from Miami to Haiti. The shipping documents claimed the containers were filled with household goods.

Agents also obtained records showing that Jacques Pierre was the purchaser of the two Barrett .50-caliber rifles, which are typically mounted to the tops of vehicles and used by gangs and cartels. One of the Barrett rifles is believed to be in the hands of Haitian gangs.

Travel and shipping records showed that the co-conspirators would facilitate a shipment to Haiti shortly after purchasing a large number of firearms, then would travel to Haiti around the time the shipment was scheduled to arrive in Haiti. Travel records also showed that the defendants traveled to the Dominican Republic three days before the shipping container was intercepted.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisibeth Adams for the Middle District of Florida.

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