Boxing
Julio Cesar Chávez Jr arrested over cartel ties just days after Jake Paul defeat
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The boxer Julio César Chávez Jr has been arrested by the US’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department and is currently awaiting deportation back to his native Mexico.
Chávez, who fought Jake Paul only last week, was arrested in Studio City, California. According to the US’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Chávez has an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organised crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives.
According to the Associated Press, Chávez was arrested by ‘a large number of federal agents’ while he was riding a scooter in front of a home where he resides in Studio City.
DHS also said that Chávez is believed to an affiliate of the Sinaloa Cartel, which has recently been designated as a foreign terrorist organisation by the current administration. It is understood that Chávez was arrested two days ago.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, said: “This Sinaloa Cartel affiliate with an active arrest warrant for trafficking guns, ammunition, and explosives was arrested by ICE. It is shocking the previous administration flagged this criminal illegal alien as a public safety threat, but chose to not prioritize his removal and let him leave and COME BACK into our country.”
She added: “Under President Trump, no one is above the law—including world-famous athletes. Our message to any cartel affiliates in the US is clear: We will find you and you will face consequences. The days of unchecked cartel violence are over.”
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Also according to the DHS, Chávez filed application for Lawful Permanent Resident status in April 2024. The department said that his application was based on his marriage to a US citizen connected with the Sinaloa Cartel.
It is understood that Chávez is married to Frida Muñoz. She is the mother of a granddaughter of imprisoned Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman and the former wife of Edgar Guzman, who died in 2008.
The DHS also pointed to a number of convictions that Chávez has within the US. The first conviction was for driving under the influence in 2012, which resulted in 13 days in prison and three years’ probation.
More seriously, the DHS says that a judge in 2023 issued a warrant for Chávez’s arrest in 2023 for multiple weapons charges relating to organised crime. A year after that arrest warrant was issued, Chávez was convicted of other weapons charges in Los Angeles. It is not immediately known whether these 2024 convictions relate to the 2023 arrest warrant.
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On December 17, 2024, US Citizenship and Immigration Services made a referral to ICE that Chávez was an egregious public safety threat. However, DHS also claims that an entry in a DHS law enforcement system under the Biden administration indicated Chávez was not an immigration enforcement priority.
The DHS also claimed that Chávez re-entered the US in January and was ‘paroled’ into the country. It also says that he made ‘multiple fraudulent statements’ on his residency application. The order, it says, to remove him was made on 27 June.
The timing of Chávez’s arrest raises questions. Given that the order to detain was made on 27 June, there has been no public explanation as to why Chávez was not detained before his bout a day later against Jake Paul. There is also no public explanation as to why Chávez, whose whereabouts have been prominent and public knowledge in the weeks leading up to the Jake Paul fight, was not arrested or detained at any earlier point.
It has also not been explained how Chávez could be subject to deportation on the grounds that an arrest warrant has been issued.
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