WASHINGTON — A Florida woman who helped one of Haiti’s most notorious kidnapping gangs obtain high-powered rifles and ammunition from Florida gun dealers pleaded guilty Wednesday to violating U.S. export laws.
Eliande Tunis, of Pompano Beach, pleaded guilty to a 48-count indictment just before trial in federal court in Washington, D.C., leaving Germine “Yonyon” Joly, a high-profile Haitian gang leader, as the lone defendant in the case. Joly is charged in the same weapons-smuggling conspiracy while coordinating the armed kidnapping of 17 missionaries in October 2021.
In an unusual step on Wednesday, Joly waived his right to a jury trial and instead asked U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates for a bench trial.
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