Fox News – by William La Jeunesse
A .50-caliber rifle found at Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s hideout in Mexico was funneled through the gun-smuggling investigation known as Fast and Furious, sources confirmed Tuesday to Fox News.
A .50-caliber is a massive rifle that can stop a car or, as it was intended, take down a helicopter.
After the raid on Jan. 8 in the city of Los Mochis that killed five of his men and wounded one Mexican marine, officials found a number of weapons inside the house where Guzman was staying, including the rifle, officials said.
When agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives checked serial numbers of the eight weapons found in his possession, they found one of the two .50-caliber weapons traced back to the ATF program, sources said.
Federal officials told Fox News they are not sure how many of the weapons seized from Guzman’s house actually originated in the U.S. and where they were purchased, but are investigating.
Out of the roughly 2,000 weapons sold through Fast and Furious, 34 were .50-caliber rifles that can take down a helicopter, according to officials.
Federal law enforcement sources told Fox News that ‘El Chapo’ would put his guardsmen on hilltops to be on guard for Mexican police helicopters that would fly through valleys conducting raids. The sole purpose of the guardsmen would be to shoot down those helicopters, sources said.
The Fast and Furious operation involved federal agents allowing criminals to buy guns with the intention of tracking them.
Instead, agents from the ATF lost track of 1,400 of the 2,000 guns involved in the sting operation.
The operation allowed criminals to buy guns in Phoenix-area shops with the intention of tracking them once they made their way into Mexico.
The operation became a major distraction for the Obama administration as Republicans in Congress conducted a series of inquiries into how the Justice Department allowed such an operation to happen.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt after he refused to divulge documents for a congressional investigation into the matter.
This is the third time a weapon from the Fast and Furious program has been found at a high-profile Mexican crime scene.
William La Jeunesse joined FOX News Channel (FNC) in March 1998 and currently serves as a Los Angeles-based correspondent.
Eric’s gift that keeps on giving , and killing
*** A .50-caliber is a massive rifle that can stop a car or, as it was intended, take down a helicopter. ***
“As it was intended”? Intended by whom?
Taking down helicopters in flight has never been the purpose of .50 BMG rifles. They’re intended for destroying equipment on the ground and for anti-personnel sniping.
It may be technically possible to use a .50 to take down a flying helicopter in some cases, but such a feat would require incredible skill and/or luck.
“It may be technically possible to use a .50 to take down a flying helicopter in some cases, but such a feat would require incredible skill and/or luck.”
We have a winner in that category, BMF… 🙄
https://youtu.be/lzpiV620bfg?t=250
You read my mind. That’s exactly the scene I had in mind while I was writing my post above. 🙂
Helicopters have been known to be brought down by small arms fire, but it’s not likely to be so quick and dramatic. Sometimes concentrated fire does enough damage that the helicopter is forced to return to base or land immediately.
“That’s exactly the scene I had in mind while I was writing my post above.”
I suspected as much. 😉
Barrett .50s are legal in the U.S. Every swinging dick in the United States could own one. If that were the case, this story would seem as alarming as El Chapo having a shotgun.
If you could go back in time and walk around the Revolutionary War and Civil War battlefields asking soldiers whether they’d like to have one, I’ll bet every single one would answer yes. On both sides. Think about that in the context of what’s happening today and ask yourself why you don’t already have one yourself.
What readers have to struggle to remember is that El Chapo did not in fact take down a helicopter with this rifle, nor is there any evidence that he ever intended to. Guns don’t kill helicopters, but if memory serves me, a guy with an AK in “Platoon” did.
This story further incriminates Eric Holder, but it will be remembered as a story about El Chapo threatening helicopters with a Barrett. Journalism is dead at Fox News and clear thinking is dying in their audience.
Every swinging Dick in The United States Should own one!
I want mine Tax free , Now!
They’re all semi-automatic. They’re NOT machine guns. The only tax you’ll pay is sales tax.
I know that,, and I ment I aint paying ANY TAX..
was that clear enough?
Yep. I privately purchased an 8″ Python with custom carved grips that’s never been fired. No tax. Good luck.