A 53-year-old naturalized United States citizen, Jean Robert Casimir, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy, smuggling, and violations of US 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.
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. The US District Court was told that at least between 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 December 16, 2024 in Lauderhill, Florida and later indicted on January. 23, 2025.
The 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.