MIAMI — While heavy gunfire was paralyzing Haiti’s capital in late February, a man using a fake name approached a 45-foot cargo container parked in a Fort Lauderdale lot. He asked if he could drop off three parcels — two boxes and a folding casino table — to ship to the besieged country. Anestin Predestin, a self-styled broker who was parceling out space in the container for Haitians looking to ship food and merchandise, asked what was inside the taped cardboard boxes.
The man, who went by the single name “Diamortino,” lied. “Clothes,” he said. The following month, Predestin’s container left Port Everglades and arrived in Cap-Haïtien, a coastal city north of the capital, as fighting raged in Port-au-Prince between police and armed gangs.
In Cap-Haïtien, the national police discovered that Diamortino’s boxes contained more than two dozen illegally imported handguns and assault rifles, along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition — all sent from South Florida and destined for criminal gangs in northern Haiti, according to a Haitian investigator. Predestin found out about the April 5 seizure over WhatsApp messages. He said he was shocked by the discovery, not only because it involved his shipment, but because it happened as a united front of gangs was attempting to topple the government.
The gunmen launched deadly coordinated attacks on state institutions, including the capital’s airport, main seaport and prisons. “Can you imagine?” Predestin, 48, .
