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Florida Trio Accused of Smuggling Guns to ‘400 Mawozo’ Gang in Haiti

The three suspects allegedly sent weapons from the U.S. to leaders of the group reportedly behind the October kidnapping of at least 17 missionaries.

Three Florida residents are facing federal charges for allegedly smuggling firearms from South Florida to leaders of Haiti’s notorious 400 Mawozo gang, recently accused of kidnapping at least 17 American and Canadian missionaries last month near Port-au-Prince. That’s according to a criminal complaint unsealed Monday, which alleges the trio, Eliande Tunis, Jocelyn Dor, and Walder St. Louis, filled orders for assorted weapons sent via WhatsApp by two unnamed 400 Mawozo higher-ups, including one for a .50-caliber Barrett Model 82A1 sniper rifle. Tunis, a U.S. citizen, is a full-fledged member of 400 Mawozo, prosecutors claim, and allegedly sent a message to an unnamed co-conspirator in Haiti saying, “We are snakes, We slither to get where we are going. They would be shocked to see Mawozo invade Miami.”

The three suspects bought the guns and ammo from licensed dealers in Florida, and shipped them to Haiti in barrels, concealed under piles of clothing, shoes, and Gatorade, according to the feds. “In order to fund this conspiracy, Tunis fraudulently obtained money from V-1, an elderly individual for whom Tunis worked, and caused the same to be wired to Tunis’s bank account,” the complaint states. Tunis, Dor, and St. Louis began shipping the weapons in September, and continued through late October, it says. They are each charged with smuggling and export control violations.

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Justin RohrlichReporter

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