Francesca Charles, a former Jacksonville resident, told a federal judge that she smuggled weapons from Northeast Florida into violence-ridden Haiti, where criminal gangs fight for power and profit.

"All of the firearms purchased by the defendant and co-conspirators were purchased in Jacksonville," one reads in an agreement signed by Francesca Charles before she pleaded guilty on May 11 to smuggling, conspiracy, and illegally shipping firearms.

Charles and his two brothers, Jacques Pierre and Jeff Pierre, were arrested in Haiti in 2025, around the time authorities in the neighboring Dominican Republic seized a shipping container sent from Miami. According to the plea agreement, Charles and the brothers had sent the container to Haiti.

Federal agents learned that the three men had purchased 20 of the 23 firearms in the container and 46 other firearms from licensed dealers over a 10-month period prior to the seizure. Charles, 29, personally purchased at least two dozen weapons, according to the plea agreement, which states that she and the brothers had organized at least three prior trips to Haiti, always shortly after purchasing the weapons.

The Pierre brothers are scheduled to go on trial in Jacksonville federal court in June.

Francesca Charles could theoretically face up to 20 years in prison for the three crimes she pleaded guilty to before U.S. District Judge Patricia Barksdale.

SL/ iciHaiti