A 57-year-old Key West resident has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a single count of smuggling in connection with an illegal gun-running operation involving firearms exported to Haiti.
Jean Wiltene Eugene, a U.S. citizen born in Haiti, entered his plea on Monday, admitting to knowingly exporting firearms without the necessary license from the Bureau of Industry and Security. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., Sue J. Bai of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Justin Fleck of the Miami Field Office. Sentencing is scheduled for July 22.
Court documents show that Eugene arranged to send vehicles to Haiti through a Florida-based export company, signing paperwork that explicitly prohibited the shipment of firearms or ammunition. However, Eugene later confessed to federal agents that he had concealed firearms in vehicles he shipped in 2020 and 2021, disguising them with food and other items to avoid detection.
In a later interview, Eugene admitted to purchasing at least nine firearms in Key West under his own name and shipping them to his gas station in Haiti. None of those weapons, he said, remained in the United States. He acknowledged knowing that his actions were illegal.
Eugene was arrested on May 4, 2024, during a traffic stop in Key West following the issuance of an arrest warrant.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Miami Field Office, with support from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement. Prosecutors include Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall and Trial Attorney Beau Barnes from the National Security Division.
Individuals convicted of illegally exporting firearms face penalties of up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million.
