South Florida resident pleads guilty in D.C. to smuggling firearms from Florida to Haiti (DOJ)

WASHINGTON - Jean Robert Casimir, 53, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Lauderhill, Florida, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to conspiracy, smuggling, and violations of U.S. export control law for his role in an extensive firearms trafficking operation through which he illegally exported at least 140 firearms to Haiti since 2020, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

"Casimir exploited his access to firearms in our country to arm buyers in Haiti, disguising his shipments and evading the licensing laws that exist to keep weapons out of the hands of those who would use them to fuel violence abroad," said U.S. Attorney Pirro. "This office will continue to hold accountable anyone who treats our export laws as an obstacle to work around rather than the law of the land."

Joining U.S. Attorney Pirro in the announcement were Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg, Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge José R. Figueroa of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami.

According to court documents, from at least August 2020 through December 2024, Casimir illegally exported no less than 140 firearms from the United States to Haiti without having first obtained the required license from the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, located in the District of Columbia.

Between at least August 2020 and December 2024, Casimir purchased at least 108 firearms from Federal Firearms Licensees and at least 30-35 firearms from a U.S. person in Florida, all of which he exported to Haiti without a license. These firearms included rifles, pistols, and shotguns of various makes and models. To smuggle the firearms to Haiti, Casimir and his co-conspirators used, among other techniques, industrial air compressors that they cut open and welded back together, packing disassembled rifles and handguns with foam insulation. Casimir and his co-conspirators then shipped these and other packages to Haiti via boats leaving from the Miami area. Casimir is a former Haitian National Police officer.

Casimir was arrested on Dec. 16, 2024, in Lauderhill, Florida, and later indicted on Jan. 23, 2025.

This case is being investigated by the FBI Miami Field Office, HSI Washington, D.C. and HSI Miami with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariel Dean for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Beau Barnes of the Justice Department's National Security Division, with assistance provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.

Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

Jean Robert Casimir

Casimir shipped the firearms inside air compressors.

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