Jean Robert Casimir, 53, a former Haitian police officer and naturalized U.S. citizen residing in Lauderhill, Florida, pleaded guilty Tuesday, August 4th, in U.S. District Court to conspiracy, arms trafficking, and violations of U.S. export control laws. He is accused of participating in a large-scale firearms trafficking network.

According to court documents, between at least August 2020 and December 2024, Casimir illegally exported at least 140 firearms from the United States to Haiti without first obtaining the required authorization.

Between August 2020 and December 2024, Casimir purchased at least 108 firearms from federal license holders and at least 30 to 35 firearms from a U.S. citizen in Florida. He exported all of them to Haiti without permits. These weapons included assault rifles, pistols, and shotguns of various makes and models. To smuggle them into Haiti, Casimir and his accomplices used industrial air compressors, which they opened and re-welded, packing the disassembled rifles and pistols in insulating foam. They then shipped these packages, along with others, to Haiti by boat from the Miami area.

Casimir was arrested on December 16, 2024, in Lauderhill and indicted on January 23, 2025.

The investigation is being led by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Miami Office, Brett D. Skiles, and Special Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Unit of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Miami, José R. Figueroa.

This case is being investigated jointly by the FBI's Miami Office, HSI in Washington, D.C., and HSI in Miami, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The case is being handled by Ariel Dean, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and Beau Barnes, an attorney with the Department of Justice's Division of National Security, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. Kimberly Paschall, former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, provided valuable support to the prosecution.

SL/ HaitiLibre