(Image: AP/Rebecca Blackwell)
On Tuesday, a source confirmed to Fox News that a .50 caliber rifle found at the hideout of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was part of the infamous U.S. gun-smuggling operation known as Fast and Furious.
The raid on Jan. 8 in Los Mochis found a number of weapons, including the rifle in question, inside the hideout where Guzman was staying. This was the same raid that killed a Marine and five of “El Chapo’s” men.
The primary mission of a .50 caliber rifle is to take down targets at extended ranges to include aircraft (helicopters in this case), intelligence sites, radar sites, and various other thin skinned (lightly armored) targets out to 2000 meters.
Fox News learned from federal officials that they are not sure exactly how many of the weapons seized in the raid originated from the United States, but they are investigating.
More federal law enforcement officials told Fox News that “El Chapo” would place his guards on a hilltop and tell them to lookout for the helicopters of Mexican police. They were told that their sole purpose was to shoot down those helicopters should they get too close to the area.
Operation Fast and Furious involved U.S. federal agents allowing criminals to buy weapons with the intention of tracking them. However, agents lost track of 70 percent of the guns involved in the operation.
This is nothing new as this is the third time a weapon from Operation Fast and Furious was involved in a “high-profile” Mexican crime scene.