LatinNews Daily - 05 March 2018

Brazil: On 26 February Frederik Barbieri, considered one of the most influential arms traffickers in Brazil, was indicted in the US on charges of illegal exportation of firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition. Barbieri was arrested in his home in Port St Lucie, Florida, on 24 February by US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, who found more than 40 automatic weapons in his possession. The US and Brazilian authorities have sought Barbieri’s arrest for multiple illegal shipments of firearms from the US to Brazil from 2013 to 2017, which were then distributed to drug trafficking gangs in various Brazilian cities including Rio de Janeiro. Barbieri obtained US citizenship after he moved to Florida in 2012 and will be tried by federal prosecutors in Miami, despite a request from Brazil’s justice ministry that he be extradited to Brazil to be prosecuted there. Barbieri has been charged with four felonies, and if convicted, could face at least five years in jail.

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