JACKSONVILLE — A 28-year-old Jacksonville woman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle firearms from the United States to Haiti, part of a scheme that funneled at least 46 weapons — including military-style .50-caliber rifles — through Miami to armed gangs in the Caribbean, federal prosecutors announced.
Francesca Charles faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to smuggle goods and unlawfully ship firearms, unlawfully shipping firearms, and smuggling goods from the United States. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced the plea. Charles personally purchased at least 24 of the 46 firearms acquired by the conspiracy between May 2024 and February 2025.
Dominican Republic officials intercepted a shipping container in February 2025 that had originated in Miami and was destined for Haiti. Inside, hidden behind a manifest listing household goods, authorities found 18 rifles, 5 handguns, firearms magazines, more than 36,000 rounds of ammunition, and a silencer. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations determined that Charles and her co-defendants had purchased at least 20 of the 23 firearms seized from the container. Thirty-seven of the 46 total firearms were purchased in a concentrated six-month window between Aug. 9, 2024, and Feb. 10, 2025.
Among the weapons were two Barrett .50-caliber rifles — heavy-duty military-style weapons typically mounted to the tops of vehicles and used in furtherance of violence by gangs and cartels — purchased by co-defendant Jacques Pierre, 32, a Haitian citizen residing in Florida. One Barrett rifle was recovered from the intercepted shipment. The second was recovered in November 2025 during a clash between Haitian police and an armed gang, according to court documents.
Travel and shipping records showed the co-conspirators facilitated shipments to Haiti shortly after purchasing large numbers of firearms, then traveled to Haiti around the time each shipment was scheduled to arrive. The defendants also traveled to the Dominican Republic three days before the container was intercepted.
Jacques Pierre and his brother, Jeff Pierre, 34, also a Haitian citizen residing in Florida, have been charged with conspiracy to smuggle goods and unlawfully ship firearms, smuggling goods from the United States, and unlawfully shipping firearms. Each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Both are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by ATF and HSI with assistance from the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince and the United States Marshals Service. Assistant United States Attorney Elisibeth Adams is prosecuting the case as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative targeting transnational criminal organizations and violent crime. Charles’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 18.