Jose Manuel Barron, 32, of Columbia County, Florida, has pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to transfer firearms to a nonresident and making false statements to a firearms dealer. John P. Heekin, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the plea.

According to court records cited by prosecutors, Barron agreed between June 2019 and February 2022 to transfer, sell and deliver multiple firearms to an intended recipient in Mexico. The U.S. Attorney's office describes the guns as military style weapons. They included two Barrett .50 BMG caliber rifles, a Colt 5.56 caliber rifle and a Model M240 SLR 7.62 caliber rifle.

Prosecutors say Barron obtained one of the firearms under false pretenses from a federal firearms dealer. Three of the guns were later recovered in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, the office says.

Sentencing is set for January 26, 2027, at 3:00pm before Chief United States District Court Judge Allen C. Winsor in Gainesville. Barron faces up to five years in prison. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Adam Hapner is prosecuting it.

The office says the case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide Justice Department effort that brings federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement together against violent crime. The department describes the program as a key part of Operation Take Back America and says it works alongside President Trump's Homeland Security Task Forces.