Boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr set to go to JAIL in Mexico once deported from America after arrest over 'cartel links'
The son and namesake of Mexico's greatest boxer, the younger Chavez was arrested for overstaying his visa and lying on a green-card application. In Mexico, he's wanted for on allegations of drug and gun trafficking.
His arrest comes just a week after his unanimous-decision defeat to influencer-boxer Jake Paul.
'The hope is that he will be deported and serve the sentence in Mexico,' Sheinbaum said Friday as Chavez faces allegations of trafficking firearms and drugs.
Chavez was picked up Wednesday by ICE agents while riding his scooter in the upscale LA neighborhood of Studio City.
'Do you have anything in your shoes,' one agent is heard asking Chavez in Spanish in the clip recorded by Fox LA's Matthew Seedorff .
'No,' Chavez replied, before asking: 'Do you inform my lawyer when I have a warrant?'
In its statement, DHS explained Chavez Jr's warrant relates to 'his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives'. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said: 'This Sinaloa Cartel affiliate with an active arrest warrant for trafficking guns, ammunition, and explosives was arrested by ICE.
Chavez has spent considerable time in his native Mexico and the US in recent years, but according to the Department of Homeland Security, his tourist visa expired in February of 2024. The agency further claims Chavez filed several fraudulent statements while applying for permanent residence in April of 2024 after marrying Frida Muñoz, who is related to imprisoned Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman.
Chavez's father has openly spoken about his own relationships with the Sinaloa Cartel and, in particular, 'El Chapo'.
In a podcast with journalist Javier Alarcon in 2021, Chavez revealed: 'Not just El Chapo, I've met all the most wanted drug traffickers, like Amado Carrillo, El Azul [Esparragoza], and El Mayo [Zambada]. 'I know them all, and they've all been my friends, but that's about it. Those people, if you know them, are good people'.
NEW; Through federal sources, I have obtained video of ICE arresting Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Wednesday in Studio City, CA. The boxer is accused of being affiliated with the Sinaloa Cartel. pic.twitter.com/FpD0v4aTta
— Matthew Seedorff (@MattSeedorff) July 3, 2025
Donald Trump's DHS has accused the Biden White House of allowing Chavez to re-enter the US illegally.
'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.' Under President Trump, no one is above the law—including world-famous athletes. Our message to any cartel affiliates in the U.S. is clear: We will find you and you will face consequences. The days of unchecked cartel violence are over.'
Chavez's attorney, Michael Goldstein, blasted the DHS' claims in a statement to The Associated Press.
'The current allegations are outrageous and simply another headline to terrorize the community,' Goldstein said.
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Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Bloodbath cartel violence worse than ever in Mexico with beheaded bodies hanging from bridges, mass shootings and a 'extermination camps' with ovens for disposing of the dead
Mexico 's brutal cartel war has exploded into a new era of horror. In recent times, beheaded corpses have been left dangling from bridges, charred bones have been found in underground ovens and innocent civilians gunned down at religious festivals. Once confined to remote borderlands, the carnage is now brazen, public, and unrelenting, leaving Mexican streets soaked in blood. In the last year, the country has been rocked by a wave of cartel atrocities so extreme, officials and investigators are calling them 'extermination campaigns'. One of the most shocking scene came just days ago, on June 30, in the cartel stronghold of Culiacán, Sinaloa, the home of Joaquín ' El Chapo ' Guzmán's former empire. Twenty corpses were discovered, including four beheaded men hanging from a highway overpass, their heads stuffed in black bags and dumped nearby. The remaining 16 victims were found crammed into a van, many executed with close-range shots to the head. Investigators believe the killings were part of an internal war within the Sinaloa Cartel, between the sons of El Chapo, known as Los Chapitos, and the rival La Mayiza faction. A note, scrawled with the words 'WELCOME TO THE NEW SINALOA', was left at the scene as a warning to rivals to stay away The gruesome murders were not just to remove rivals - it was also to send a clear message to anyone trying to encroach on cartel territory. The power struggle between the factions erupted after the arrest of El Chapo back in 2016. It ended up splitting the cartel into different groups. That has resulted in constant violence between the members. Since September last year, more than 2,000 people have been reported murdered or missing in connection to the internal war. Grim discoveries like the ones in Sinaloa is not an isolated incident - in March, forensic teams made a discovery that chilled even hardened investigators. It was a secret compound near Teuchitlán, Jalisco, where the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) allegedly ran a full-scale 'extermination site'. Buried beneath Izaguirre ranch, authorities found three massive crematory ovens. They contained piles of charred human bones, and a haunting mountain of belongings - over 200 pairs of shoes, purses, belts, and even children's toys. Experts believe victims were kidnapped, tortured and burnt alive, or after being executed, to destroy evidence of mass killings. The chilling find was made on a ranch that has been secured by cops several months prior. When cops stormed the site, they arrested ten armed members of the cartel, and found three people who had been reported missing (two were being held hostage, while the third was dead, wrapped in plastic). José Murguía Santiago, the mayor of the nearby town, was also arrested in connection to the crimes. The ranch was also being used as a training centre for the cartel, who have now been declared a terrorist organisation by US president Donald Trump's administration. Several advocates in Mexico have raised concerns about cartel brutality. Two of them, a mother and son duo, were slaughtered in April this year after revealing what was going on at the ranch, which they called an 'extermination camp'. Maria del Carmen Morales, 43, and her son, Jamie Daniel Ramirez Morales, 26, were staunch advocates for missing people in Mexico. According to cops, 'a pair of men' targeted Daniel in Jalisco and when his mother stepped in to defend him, she was also set upon. Maria's other son went missing in February the previous year. She fought tirelessly to find out what had happened to him. Reports indicate that since 2010, 28 mothers have been killed while searching for their relatives. Just a few weeks after the ranch was discovered, authorities in Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara, unearthed 169 black bags at a construction site, all filled with dismembered human remains. So far, at least 34 victims have been identified through DNA. The bags were hidden near CJNG territory, where disappearances are widespread. Activists say families reported dozens of missing young people in the area in recent months. Despite the capture of some of its most ruthless leaders, the cartel remains one of Mexico's most feared criminal enterprises. After the news of the ranch broke, the country's president Claudia Sheinbaum, vowed to do more to strengthen laws relating to missing people. The bloodbath in March continued when the bodies of nine people who had vanished were found on a highway. They had been brutally hacked - a bag containing their hands was found alongside their remains. The bodies were dumped inside the trunk of a car abandoned on San Jose Miahuatlan, 175 miles south of Mexico City. Five of the nine were discovered underneath a tarp soaked with blood, while the remaining four were stuffed into the boot of the car. Local reports initially indicated that the bodies of the four women and five men were students from Tlaxcala who had gone to Oaxaca for a vacation. However, news outlet NVI Noticias alleged that the victims were members of the Los Zacapoaxtlas criminal gang. The car containing the remains, a grey Volkswagen Vento, was seen along the highway just three days after the students were reported missing. In May, investigators raided a ranch outside Colima City, uncovering a mass grave containing the remains of at least 42 people. The bodies showed signs of acid burns, blunt force trauma and ligature marks. Authorities say that when they arrived at the location, some of the bodies were still burning. Cartel enforcers are believed to have used the site to torture and eliminate rivals, before attempting to destroy the corpses with chemicals and fire. The killings were linked to the Jalisco cartel, which has turned Colima into one of Mexico's most dangerous states as it fights to dominate Pacific drug routes. In October last year, the town of Ojuelos, Jalisco, woke up to yet another horror - the decapitated bodies of five men dumped by a dirt road. Their heads were found in a separate sack, left beside a cardboard sign with a blood-soaked warning from CJNG. Locals said they heard screaming the night before, followed by cars speeding away. Police were called after plastic bags containing the body parts were discovered by drivers. Authorities immediately deduced that because the bodies were dumped in such a public place, as well as the sheer brutality of the killings, was a strong indication that the cartel was involved. Just last month, a festival celebrating the Nativity of Saint John in the city of Irapuato was plunged into chaos. As families gathered in Irapuato for a traditional nativity festival, heavily armed men pulled up in trucks and sprayed the crowd with bullets. Eleven people were killed in the horrifying attack, with 20 others injured, some critically. Plastic chairs, drums, and food trays were left drenched in blood. Afterwards, residents could be seen walking through the horror, with blood soaked streets and bullet holes in the walls. Witnesses say the gunmen didn't speak or issue demands. They simply shot and left. The gruesome nature of cartel assassinations is unmistakable. In January 2024, when workers showed up to a gas station in La Concordia, Chiapas, southern Mexico, to begin their shift, they were horrified at what they found. Hitmen had left a cooler with severed human heads and attached a note warning their rivals to 'stop hiding'. The workers initially believed the cooler contained vaccines for veterinary use, but were left petrified when they opened it, according to local media. The message found attached to the cooler was aimed at the CJNG, telling them they would soon suffer the same fate. It read: 'There's your s**t you bunch of pigs. The same thing is going to happen to all the polleros (smugglers) who generate money for the scourges of the CJNG and the f*****s of the Chiapas Cartel. 'Go out and fight you bunch of pigs, stop hiding under government skirt. Pure CDS.' Just hours before the find, the CJNG had reportedly left a body hanging from an overpass on the Tuxtla-Ocozocoaulta highway in a warning to the Sinaloa cartel. Mexico's official homicide count surpassed 30,000 in 2023, but activists believe the true death toll is far higher, especially with so many bodies disappearing into secret graves and cremation pits. By the end of 2023, there was more than 110,000 active cases of people who had disappeared without a trace. Exerts predict the number could be higher due to underreporting and unreliable data. Mexico's drug war is now dominated by some of the most brutal and dangerous cartels in history, whose violence has turned entire regions into blood-soaked battlegrounds. At the top of the list is the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), led by Nemecio 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes. CJNG is considered Mexico's most powerful and ruthless cartel, feared for its military-style tactics and shocking public displays of cruelty. The cartel controls vital drug routes along the Pacific coast, especially in Jalisco and Colima, where their turf wars have left hundreds dead. The Sinaloa Cartel remains a heavyweight despite its internal splits. Sinaloa's grip on northern drug trafficking routes remains strong, but its ongoing violence continues to destabilise communities and threaten innocent lives. Although Mexico's president, Claudia Pardo has vowed to do more to tackle the cartel violence crisis, the issue still persists on a greater scale In Guanajuato, the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel has grown into a violent force in its own right. Known primarily for fuel theft and extortion, it has expanded through bloody confrontations with larger groups like CJNG. Smaller but vicious cartels like the Chiapas Cartel operate in southern Mexico, shocking communities with grisly killings and public warnings. Though smaller, their willingness to engage in extreme violence keeps them relevant in Mexico's cartel chaos. Together, these cartels among others have pushed Mexico into a new era of brutality, where civilians, students, and activists often become the victims of ruthless power struggles.
The Independent
33 minutes ago
- The Independent
A fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Iran war tests the harmony of Los Angeles' huge Iranian community
'Tehrangeles" in West Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran. This cultural enclave, also known as Little Persia, is where Iranian Muslims, Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians and Bahai have peacefully coexisted for decades. But the recent war between Israel and Iran — a bloody, 12-day conflict paused by a fragile ceasefire — has brought up religious tensions and political debates that rarely surface in this culturally harmonious environment. To complicate matters, the U.S. — an ally of Israel — bombed Iran during the war. Many Iranian Jews in the diaspora have viewed the onset of the war with 'anxious glee,' said Daniel Bral, a West Los Angeles resident whose grandfather, Moossa Bral, was the sole Jewish member of parliament in prerevolutionary Iran. He sees family members and others in the community rejoicing at the possibility of their 'tormentor' being vanquished. But Bral feels differently. 'I'm just nervous and am completely rattled by everything that is happening,' he said. 'I understand and sympathize with people's hope for regime change. But I worry about the safety of civilians and the efficacy of the operation removing Iran as a nuclear threat.' But Bral doesn't see the war itself as a divisive issue in the diaspora because antagonism for the current regime is common across religious groups. 'This hatred for the regime actually unifies Muslims and Jews,' he said. Cultural enclave offers a sense of grounding Kamran Afary, a professor of communication at California State University, Los Angeles, who emigrated from Iran in the 1970s and cowrote a book about identities in Iranian diaspora, said the community, for the most part, has nursed a spirit of tolerance and respect, much like his interfaith family. While Afary is spiritual but not religious, other members of his family practice Judaism, Islam and the Bahai faith. 'Interfaith marriage used to be fraught, but even that is common now,' he said. Afary says for him, Tehrangeles, with its row of grocery stores, ice cream and kebab shops, restaurants, bakeries and bookstores, offers solace and a sense of grounding in his culture and roots. There are about half a million Iranian Americans in the Greater Los Angeles region. The largest wave of Iranians migrated to the area after Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown in 1979 and Ayatollah Khomeini assumed control, establishing the Islamic Republic of Iran. West Los Angeles, in particular, has the largest concentration of Iranian Jews outside Iran. A test for long-held bonds Diane Winston, professor of media and religion at the University of Southern California, said Israel's recent fight against the regime in Iran could test relationships between Iranian Jews and Muslims. 'Muslims, who otherwise would be happy to see regime change, might have felt a little differently about it because their antipathy for Zionism is strong," she said. Winston also observed that in the diaspora, which is concentrated in wealthy cities like Beverly Hills and Westwood, it is not just religion or culture that brings people together, but also their elevated social status. 'They go to the same schools, parties and cultural events,' she said. 'In general, Iranian Muslims and Jews are not quite as religious as their counterparts back home. Los Angeles is a city where there is room to be orthodox, but also being less religious is not a problem. The less religious Jews and Muslims are, the less antipathy they may have toward each other.' A time of fear and uncertainty Tanaz Golshan was 2 when her family left Iran in 1986. She serves as the senior vice president of Caring for Jews in Need, the Jewish Federation Los Angeles' service arm. She is also the organization's liaison to the Iranian Jewish community. Judaism for Iranians is 'more cultural and familial,' Golshan said. Getting together Friday for Shabbat means having Persian Jewish dishes like 'gondi,' which are dumplings served in soup. 'In my family, we didn't grow up too religious,' she said. 'We don't think about religion when we go to a restaurant or market. You'll find people in both communities that are extreme and don't want anything to do with the other. But in general, we have a lot of love and respect for each other.' And yet this is proving to be a tense and scary time for Iranian Jews in the diaspora, she said. 'What happens globally can affect security locally,' Golshan said, adding the federation's helpline has received calls asking if there are any threats to local Jewish institutions, she said. 'There is real fear that temples and community centers could become targets." On Monday, Golshan's organization and others hosted more than 350 community members for a virtual event titled, L.A. United: Iranian and Israeli Communities in Solidarity. A call for regime change in Iran Reactions to the war have been nuanced, regardless of religious affiliations. Arezo Rashidian, whose family is Muslim, is a Southern California political activist who favors regime change in Iran. She supports the return of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the shah, who has declared he is ready to lead the country's transition to a democratic government. Rashidian said she has never been able to visit Iran because of her activism. The only hope for her return would be for the current regime to fall. This is why the ceasefire has stirred mixed feelings for her and many others in the community, she said. 'It's been an emotional roller coaster. No one wants a war, but we were on the brink of seeing this regime collapse. We were so close," she said. Lior Sternfeld, professor of history and Jewish studies at Penn State University, said Iranian Jews in the diaspora identify with Iran, Israel and the U.S., and that these identities are 'often not in harmony.' 'They don't see the Islamic Republic as Iran any more, but an entity to be demolished," he said. "They see Israel more as a religious homeland.' President Donald Trump enjoyed strong support in the diaspora and has now upset his backers in the community because he has stated he is not interested in regime change, Sternfeld said. Desire for unity and common ground There is a push, particularly in the younger generation, for peace and understanding among religious groups in the diaspora. Bral says he is engaged in peacebuilding work through his writing and advocacy. 'We are cousins at the end of the day, as clichéd and corny as that sounds,' he said. Bral's friend Rachel Sumekh, whose parents emigrated from Iran, grew up Jewish in the San Fernando Valley. Sumekh hosts dinner parties with her diverse group of friends as a way of widening her circle across religious lines. In December, she hosted a gathering for Yalda, an ancient Persian festival with Zoroastrian roots, which is observed on the winter solstice as celebrants look forward to brighter days. Last year, Yalda, which also marks the victory of light over darkness, coincided with Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights. 'We created a new tradition bringing people of both traditions together to emphasize how much we have in common,' Sumekh said. 'This war is just a reminder that as much as our day-to-day lives may be separate, there is still a lot we share in terms of culture and as a people.' ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Visitors victimised in latest overtourism protests
A protest against gentrification and mass tourism in Mexico City escalated into violence on Friday, with masked individuals smashing storefronts and harassing foreigners in popular areas. Demonstrators, some of whom screamed at tourists, later moved to the U.S. Embassy, where graffiti reading "get out of Mexico" was seen on shattered glass. The unrest stems from rising tensions over an influx of American "digital nomads" since 2020, which has caused rents to soar and displaced local residents. Police reinforcements were deployed around the U.S. Embassy as sirens sounded in the city centre following the escalation of the protest. This incident reflects a growing trend of anti-tourism protests in major cities worldwide, including European capitals, where record numbers of visitors are straining local resources.
