The gathering of evidence that followed the capture of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has turned up a .50 caliber sniper rifle which was acquired via the Obama administration’s gun smuggling operation, Fast and Furious.
A .50-caliber is a massive rifle that can stop a car or, as it was intended, take down a helicopter and is capable of extremely long-range shots. In fact, while reporting the breadth and scope of the gun running operations involved in Fast & Furious, Breitbart News warned that a cartel sniper familiar with a .50 cal would easily be able to take cover in Mexico and shoot cars driving East and West on I-10 in Texas.
Now we know that El Chapo had such a rifle. 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.
On January 19 Fox News confirmed that the gun was obtained via Fast and Furious. The report also confirmed that the .50 caliber in El Chapo’s possession was one of two such rifles that have been traced back to Fast and Furious to date.
There were approximately 2,000 to 2,200 guns knowingly sold to straw purchasers during Fast and Furious. The guns were then smuggled across the border and were supposed to be traced in order to lead authorities to cartel members. However, the ATF and DOJ lost track of the majority of the guns, with “1,400” of the weapons still unaccounted for.
Thirty-four of the guns sold and smuggled via Fast and Furious were .50 caliber rifles; thus, more than 94 percent of them are still at large.
