Office of the Spokesperson

U.S.-Caribbean Cooperation to Disrupt Illicit Firearms Trafficking

Fact Sheet

February 25, 2026

Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) traffic illicit drugs that kill our citizens and illegally smuggle firearms and ammunition that fuel violence and instability in the Caribbean – including Haiti.  The United States works to disrupt illicit firearms trafficking in our region through enhanced intelligence sharing, joint investigations, and operations with Caribbean law enforcement counterparts.

Driving Cross-Border Investigations

• U.S. law enforcement and border security agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) use advanced technologies to detect and intercept firearms shipments at entry and exit ports and enforce U.S. export controls to prevent the diversion of legal shipments to criminal gangs.
• The Department of State facilitates mentoring and technical assistance to enable Caribbean law enforcement officials to more effectively trace firearms, collect evidence, and carry out joint investigations with U.S. law enforcement agencies.
• The Department of State also works with U.S. law enforcement to support specialized units of vetted foreign law enforcement officials who work directly with U.S. investigators. DHS/HSI’s Transnational Criminal Investigative Units (TCIUs) in the Dominican Republic and Haiti combat firearms trafficking, as well as drug smuggling, money laundering, and human trafficking. The U.S.-supported CARICOM Crime Gun Intelligence Unit (CGIU), based in Trinidad and Tobago, uses intelligence to drive firearms trafficking and gun crime investigations.
• In the Eastern Caribbean, the Department of State supports Caribbean law enforcement and prosecutors on firearms trafficking investigation, and the development and implementation of sentencing guidelines for firearms trafficking convictions.
• The Department of State provides technical training and equipment to strengthen Caribbean forensics and ballistic analysis capabilities, particularly in The Bahamas, Guyana, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Saint Lucia.
• The Department of State supports a regional weapons stockpile security program in the Caribbean to help security forces better secure their weapons stockpiles against illicit diversion, including along the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Dismantling Criminal Networks

• In February 2026, a U.S. Homeland Security Task Force that included DOJ, DHS, other U.S. agencies, and the Connecticut State Police dismantled a multi-state Dominican-led criminal network, seizing over a kilogram of fentanyl and methamphetamine and 17 firearms. Four of the six individuals arrested face federal charges for firearms trafficking conspiracy.
• In May 2025, Jamaica Customs Agency officials, trained with Department of State support in x-ray examination and targeting, seized 238 firearms and more than 23,000 rounds of ammunition smuggled inside household water heaters at Kingston’s seaport. It was the agency’s largest firearms seizure on record.
• In February 2025, Dominican Republic authorities, in cooperation with ATF, HSI, and U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince, intercepted a shipping container from Miami destined for Haiti containing 23 undeclared firearms, including military-style Barrett .50-caliber rifles, and over 36,000 rounds of ammunition, leading to federal charges against three Florida residents.

Holding Firearms Traffickers Accountable

• In January 2026, Joel Rodriguez was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment and 3 years supervised release in connection with the attempted export of 17 firearms from the United States to the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez pled guilty to various firearms export-related violations in October 2025 following a joint investigation by BIS, HSI, and ATF.
• In December 2025, upon entry into the United States, Juhisani Angol was arrested in Puerto Rico in connection with the illegal export of firearms to Dominica and Saint Maarten. Angol was indicted for firearms smuggling pursuant to a joint investigation by BIS, ATF, and HSI.
• In November 2025, following a joint investigation by BIS, ATF, and HSI into the attempted export of 48 firearms to the Dominican Republic via a freight forwarder, Victor Rodriguez was sentenced to 30 months in prison and will be deported back to the Dominican Republic upon completion of his prison sentence. Later that same month, Miguel Diaz plead guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia for his efforts to acquire the firearms identified in this scheme.
• In August 2025, Shem Wayne Alexander pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle firearms from the United States to Trinidad and Tobago. Alexander and his co-conspirators unlawfully exported pistols and rifles concealed within boxing/fight equipment, speakers, and other household items.  Conspirators acquired firearms in the Tampa area from different sellers through straw purchases, falsely representing the identities of the actual purchasers and recipients of the firearms, as well as their ultimate destination.
• In July 2025, Jean WilteneEugene, a U.S. citizen residingin Key West, Florida, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $20,000 for smuggling firearms to Haiti. Eugene admitted to hiding firearms in vehicles shipped to Haiti.  The investigation was led by the FBI Miami Field Office with support from ATF and BIS.
• In January 2025, CBP agents at Port of Miami intercepted firearms, ammunition, and accessories concealed in a cargo container destined for Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, leading to the arrest of a Florida resident. The container, falsely labeled as containing household goods, contained 10 pistols, 18 magazines, and over 2,200 rounds of ammunition.

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from Collected Department Releases – United States Department of State https://ift.tt/uNAk2o0

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