Latest news with #JulioCésarChávezJr
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Yahoo
Boxer Julio César Chávez Jr was a cartel henchman, Mexican prosecutors claim
The Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr was a henchman for the Sinaloa drugs cartel and used his skills to pummel rival gang members 'like a punchbag' before his recent arrest in the US, prosecutors in Mexico have alleged. Chávez, 39, son of legendary world boxing champion Julio César Chávez Sr and himself a former middleweight titleholder, was arrested in California on Tuesday by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents, who cited cartel affiliations, multiple criminal convictions and an active arrest warrant in Mexico for weapons trafficking and organized crime. Deportation proceedings are under way, Ice officials have said. The new details of his alleged crimes in Mexico were revealed in an indictment issued Friday by the country's office of the attorney general (abbreviated FGR for its Spanish name) – and reported by the newspaper Reforma via the online outlet The court filing states that Chávez was in the service of Néstor Ernesto Pérez Salas, a leader of the Sinaloa cartel known as El Nini, who directed him to beat rival gang members his group had captured. Salas would order the victims to be tied up then hanged from a ceiling, and Chávez Jr – who married the mother of a granddaughter of imprisoned Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzmán – would be directed to beat them as if they were punchbags he used during training for his boxing career, the document alleges. Related: Former world champion Julio César Chávez Jr arrested by Ice over alleged cartel ties The information, the FGR said, came from phone calls intercepted between December 2021 and June 2022 using wiretaps. Additional evidence, including immigration records, was obtained from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Ice. According to immigration authorities, Chávez entered the US in August 2023 on a legally held visa, but it expired in February 2024. Chávez then applied for legal permanent US residency based on his marriage to Frida Muñoz, an American citizen. Muñoz's prior relationship with one of El Chapo's sons drew scrutiny from US officials. Though she has not been charged with any crime, in December 2024, Chávez was reportedly flagged in internal DHS documents as an 'egregious public safety threat', though his removal from the US was not prioritized. Despite that assessment and a criminal record dating back more than a decade, Chávez was allowed re-entry into the US at the San Ysidro port of entry in California in January under a discretionary parole process approved by Joe Biden's outgoing presidential administration. Chávez had been convicted of driving while intoxicated in California in 2012. And in January 2024, he was convicted of illegal possession of an assault weapon and manufacturing or importing a short-barreled rifle. Chávez's most notable sporting feat was winning the World Boxing Council's version of the middleweight title in June 2011. The native of Culiacán, Sinaloa, successfully defended it four times before losing it in September 2012. His arrest on 2 July occurred in Studio City, a Los Angeles neighborhood known for its celebrity residences. He was detained five days after he lost to Jake Paul, the YouTuber turned boxer, in a lucrative, heavily promoted fight in Anaheim reported to have taken in $1.5m in gate receipts alone. The Trump administration has designated the Sinaloa cartel as a foreign terrorist organization. After Chávez's arrest, Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary of the DHS, criticized the Biden administration for not expelling or detaining him, despite an active arrest warrant for trafficking guns, ammunition and explosives. '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 said in a statement. McLaughlin's statement said Chávez's status as a 'world-famous' athlete meant nothing to the Trump administration. 'Our message to any cartel affiliates in the US is clear: We will find you and you will face consequences,' the statement said. 'The days of unchecked cartel violence are over.' In its own statement, the Chávez family expressed 'total and unconditional support' for Julio Jr, who the document described as 'a son, a father and a human who has grappled with multiple challenges in his personal and professional life'. 'We are completely confident in his innocence and quality as a human – as well as in the justice systems of both Mexico and the US,' the family's statement said. 'We hope this situation will resolve itself according to the law and the truth.' On his X account over the weekend, Chávez's father – now a well-known commentator – republished a post from another user that asserted Julio Jr was in rehab. The post that the elder Chávez republished also denied Julio Jr belonged to a cartel. Ramon Antonio Vargas contributed reporting
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- The Guardian
Boxer Julio César Chávez Jr was a cartel henchman, Mexican prosecutors claim
The Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr was a henchman for the Sinaloa drugs cartel and used his skills to pummel rival gang members 'like a punchbag' before his recent arrest in the US, prosecutors in Mexico have alleged. Chávez, 39, son of legendary world boxing champion Julio César Chávez Sr and himself a former middleweight titleholder, was arrested in California on Tuesday by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents, who cited cartel affiliations, multiple criminal convictions and an active arrest warrant in Mexico for weapons trafficking and organized crime. Deportation proceedings are under way, Ice officials have said. The new details of his alleged crimes in Mexico were revealed in an indictment issued Friday by the country's office of the attorney general (abbreviated FGR for its Spanish name) – and reported by the newspaper Reforma via the online outlet The court filing states that Chávez was in the service of Néstor Ernesto Pérez Salas, a leader of the Sinaloa cartel known as El Nini, who directed him to beat rival gang members his group had captured. Salas would order the victims to be tied up then hanged from a ceiling, and Chávez Jr – who married the mother of a granddaughter of imprisoned Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzmán – would be directed to beat them as if they were punchbags he used during training for his boxing career, the document alleges. The information, the FGR said, came from phone calls intercepted between December 2021 and June 2022 using wiretaps. Additional evidence, including immigration records, was obtained from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Ice. According to immigration authorities, Chávez entered the US in August 2023 on a legally held visa, but it expired in February 2024. Chávez then applied for legal permanent US residency based on his marriage to Frida Muñoz, an American citizen. Muñoz's prior relationship with one of El Chapo's sons drew scrutiny from US officials. Though she has not been charged with any crime, in December 2024, Chávez was reportedly flagged in internal DHS documents as an 'egregious public safety threat', though his removal from the US was not prioritized. Despite that assessment and a criminal record dating back more than a decade, Chávez was allowed re-entry into the US at the San Ysidro port of entry in California in January under a discretionary parole process approved by Joe Biden's outgoing presidential administration. Chávez had been convicted of driving while intoxicated in California in 2012. And in January 2024, he was convicted of illegal possession of an assault weapon and manufacturing or importing a short-barreled rifle. Chávez's most notable sporting feat was winning the World Boxing Council's version of the middleweight title in June 2011. The native of Culiacán, Sinaloa, successfully defended it four times before losing it in September 2012. His arrest on 2 July occurred in Studio City, a Los Angeles neighborhood known for its celebrity residences. He was detained five days after he lost to Jake Paul, the YouTuber turned boxer, in a lucrative, heavily promoted fight in Anaheim reported to have taken in $1.5m in gate receipts alone. The Trump administration has designated the Sinaloa cartel as a foreign terrorist organization. After Chávez's arrest, Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary of the DHS, criticized the Biden administration for not expelling or detaining him, despite an active arrest warrant for trafficking guns, ammunition and explosives. '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 said in a statement. McLaughlin's statement said Chávez's status as a 'world-famous' athlete meant nothing to the Trump administration. 'Our message to any cartel affiliates in the US is clear: We will find you and you will face consequences,' the statement said. 'The days of unchecked cartel violence are over.' In its own statement, the Chávez family expressed 'total and unconditional support' for Julio Jr, who the document described as 'a son, a father and a human who has grappled with multiple challenges in his personal and professional life'. 'We are completely confident in his innocence and quality as a human – as well as in the justice systems of both Mexico and the US,' the family's statement said. 'We hope this situation will resolve itself according to the law and the truth.' On his X account over the weekend, Chávez's father – now a well-known commentator – republished a post from another user that asserted Julio Jr was in rehab. The post that the elder Chávez republished also denied Julio Jr belonged to a cartel. Ramon Antonio Vargas contributed reporting
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- The Guardian
Julio César Chávez Jr was a cartel henchman, Mexican prosecutors allege
The Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr was a henchman for the Sinaloa drugs cartel and used his skills to pummel rival gang members 'like a punchbag' before his recent arrest in the US, prosecutors in Mexico have alleged. Chávez, 39, son of legendary world boxing champion Julio César Chávez Sr and himself a former middleweight titleholder, was arrested in California on Tuesday by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents, who cited cartel affiliations, multiple criminal convictions and an active arrest warrant in Mexico for weapons trafficking and organized crime. Deportation proceedings are under way, Ice officials have said. The new details of his alleged crimes in Mexico were revealed in an indictment issued Friday by the country's office of the attorney general (abbreviated FGR for its Spanish name) – and reported by the newspaper Reforma via the online outlet The court filing states that Chávez was in the service of Néstor Ernesto Pérez Salas, a leader of the Sinaloa cartel known as El Nini, who directed him to beat rival gang members his group had captured. Salas would order the victims to be tied up then hanged from a ceiling, and Chávez Jr – who married the mother of a granddaughter of imprisoned Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzmán – would be directed to beat them as if they were punchbags he used during training for his boxing career, the document alleges. The information, the FGR said, came from phone calls intercepted between December 2021 and June 2022 using wiretaps. Additional evidence, including immigration records, was obtained from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Ice. According to immigration authorities, Chávez entered the US in August 2023 on a legally held visa, but it expired in February 2024. Chávez then applied for legal permanent US residency based on his marriage to Frida Muñoz, an American citizen. Muñoz's prior relationship with one of El Chapo's sons drew scrutiny from US officials. Though she has not been charged with any crime, in December 2024, Chávez was reportedly flagged in internal DHS documents as an 'egregious public safety threat', though his removal from the US was not prioritized. Despite that assessment and a criminal record dating back more than a decade, Chávez was allowed re-entry into the US at the San Ysidro port of entry in California in January under a discretionary parole process approved by Joe Biden's outgoing presidential administration. Chávez had been convicted of driving while intoxicated in California in 2012. And in January 2024, he was convicted of illegal possession of an assault weapon and manufacturing or importing a short-barreled rifle. Chávez's most notable sporting feat was winning the World Boxing Council's version of the middleweight title in June 2011. The native of Culiacán, Sinaloa, successfully defended it four times before losing it in September 2012. His arrest on 2 July occurred in Studio City, a Los Angeles neighborhood known for its celebrity residences. He was detained five days after he lost to Jake Paul, the YouTuber turned boxer, in a lucrative, heavily promoted fight in Anaheim reported to have taken in $1.5m in gate receipts alone. The Trump administration has designated the Sinaloa cartel as a foreign terrorist organization. After Chávez's arrest, Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary of the DHS, criticized the Biden administration for not expelling or detaining him, despite an active arrest warrant for trafficking guns, ammunition and explosives. '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 said in a statement. McLaughlin's statement said Chávez's status as a 'world-famous' athlete meant nothing to the Trump administration. 'Our message to any cartel affiliates in the US is clear: We will find you and you will face consequences,' the statement said. 'The days of unchecked cartel violence are over.' In its own statement, the Chávez family expressed 'total and unconditional support' for Julio Jr, who the document described as 'a son, a father and a human who has grappled with multiple challenges in his personal and professional life'. 'We are completely confident in his innocence and quality as a human – as well as in the justice systems of both Mexico and the US,' the family's statement said. 'We hope this situation will resolve itself according to the law and the truth.' On his X account over the weekend, Chávez's father – now a well-known commentator – republished a post from another user that asserted Julio Jr was in rehab. The post that the elder Chávez republished also denied Julio Jr belonged to a cartel. Ramon Antonio Vargas contributed reporting
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Yahoo
In Sinaloa's capital, news of a boxing scion's arrest and allegations of cartel ties cause unease
CULIACAN, Mexico (AP) — Inside a sports arena in Sinaloa state's capital, the crowd was sparse early on the card as young amateur boxers in puffy headgear threw punches and danced about the ring. Outside stood a bronze statue of Julio César Chávez in boxing trunks, one glove raised. The event Friday was organized by one of Chávez's brothers and 'The Legend' himself was advertised as a specially invited guest. But Chávez didn't appear. It had been a difficult week for the family. Chávez's eldest son, Julio César Chávez Jr., was arrested by U.S. immigration agents outside his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday, accused of overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application. But more significant here in Culiacan was that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security also noted that there was an active warrant for his arrest in Mexico for alleged arms and drug trafficking and suggested ties to the Sinaloa Cartel. The agency said he would be processed for expedited removal. The Legend The name Julio César Chávez in Culiacan is like saying Diego Maradona in Argentina. People stop and conversations begin. Chávez is the city's idol and source of pride, known simply as 'The Legend.' He went from a working class neighborhood along train tracks to the highest echelons of boxing fame and became a national hero. But when the questions turn to Chávez's eldest son and the Sinaloa Cartel, conversation ends and eyes avert. There was a time when many in Culiacan would speak of the cartel that carries their state's name, perhaps with euphemisms, but openly all the same, because its control was complete and for that they largely lived in peace. But since a bloody feud erupted between factions of the cartel last year, following the abduction of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada to the United States by one of the sons of former leader Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, it's safer to avoid any mention at all. Alleged cartel ties In the stands Friday night, the arrest of The Legend's son, was on the minds of many, but discussed only in hushed voices. Óscar Arrieta, a sports reporter in Culiacan, covers boxing and said Chávez Jr.'s arrest had had a big impact in Culiacan, largely because the 'harsh' way U.S. authorities linked him to organized crime. U.S. authorities did not detail the alleged ties between Chávez Jr. and the cartel other than to mention that he married a U.S. citizen who is the mother of a granddaughter of Guzmán. He mused at why if there had been a Mexican arrest warrant since 2023, hadn't there been any effort to capture him. He was a very public figure, active on social media and for the past six months or more, training for a highly promoted fight in California. On Friday, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said that he had mostly been in the U.S. since the arrest warrant was issued. 'I think it was also a way for the United States to expose the Mexican government in a way, but without a doubt much more impactful, because normally sports doesn't mix with anything else, much less with organized crime,' Arrieta said. 'An excellent person' Culiacan's boxing gyms had mostly been quiet since Thursday's announcement of Chávez Jr.'s arrest, in preparation for Friday's event. There had already been weigh-in for Friday's fights and most fighters weren't around. At one that was mostly covered outdoor spaces, teenagers tightly wrapped their wrists, bounced and shuffled, shadow boxing in a circle. Jorge Romero is a former professional boxer who trained under another Chávez brother. Now he's a trainer at Sinaloa Autonomous University. Romero said he knows Chávez Jr., regards him 'an excellent person, a great human being' who had really focused on his training ahead of his bout in California just a week ago. He expressed full support for him. Questions of ties between Chávez Jr. and organized crime, Romero said, were 'too delicate' to touch. But in general, he said boxing and the cartel walked separate paths in Culiacan. 'We don't have anything to do with organized crime,' he said. 'On the contrary, it's a clean sport, very healthy from my point of view.'
The Independent
05-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
In Sinaloa's capital, news of a boxing scion's arrest and allegations of cartel ties cause unease
Inside a sports arena in Sinaloa state's capital, the crowd was sparse early on the card as young amateur boxers in puffy headgear threw punches and danced about the ring. Outside stood a bronze statue of Julio César Chávez in boxing trunks, one glove raised. The event Friday was organized by one of Chávez's brothers and 'The Legend' himself was advertised as a specially invited guest. But Chávez didn't appear. It had been a difficult week for the family. Chávez's eldest son, Julio César Chávez Jr., was arrested by U.S. immigration agents outside his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday, accused of overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application. But more significant here in Culiacan was that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security also noted that there was an active warrant for his arrest in Mexico for alleged arms and drug trafficking and suggested ties to the Sinaloa Cartel. The agency said he would be processed for expedited removal. The Legend The name Julio César Chávez in Culiacan is like saying Diego Maradona in Argentina. People stop and conversations begin. Chávez is the city's idol and source of pride, known simply as 'The Legend.' He went from a working class neighborhood along train tracks to the highest echelons of boxing fame and became a national hero. But when the questions turn to Chávez's eldest son and the Sinaloa Cartel, conversation ends and eyes avert. There was a time when many in Culiacan would speak of the cartel that carries their state's name, perhaps with euphemisms, but openly all the same, because its control was complete and for that they largely lived in peace. But since a bloody feud erupted between factions of the cartel last year, following the abduction of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada to the United States by one of the sons of former leader Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, it's safer to avoid any mention at all. Alleged cartel ties In the stands Friday night, the arrest of The Legend's son, was on the minds of many, but discussed only in hushed voices. Óscar Arrieta, a sports reporter in Culiacan, covers boxing and said Chávez Jr.'s arrest had had a big impact in Culiacan, largely because the 'harsh' way U.S. authorities linked him to organized crime. U.S. authorities did not detail the alleged ties between Chávez Jr. and the cartel other than to mention that he married a U.S. citizen who is the mother of a granddaughter of Guzmán. He mused at why if there had been a Mexican arrest warrant since 2023, hadn't there been any effort to capture him. He was a very public figure, active on social media and for the past six months or more, training for a highly promoted fight in California. On Friday, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said that he had mostly been in the U.S. since the arrest warrant was issued. 'I think it was also a way for the United States to expose the Mexican government in a way, but without a doubt much more impactful, because normally sports doesn't mix with anything else, much less with organized crime,' Arrieta said. 'An excellent person' Culiacan's boxing gyms had mostly been quiet since Thursday's announcement of Chávez Jr.'s arrest, in preparation for Friday's event. There had already been weigh-in for Friday's fights and most fighters weren't around. At one that was mostly covered outdoor spaces, teenagers tightly wrapped their wrists, bounced and shuffled, shadow boxing in a circle. Jorge Romero is a former professional boxer who trained under another Chávez brother. Now he's a trainer at Sinaloa Autonomous University. Romero said he knows Chávez Jr., regards him 'an excellent person, a great human being' who had really focused on his training ahead of his bout in California just a week ago. He expressed full support for him. Questions of ties between Chávez Jr. and organized crime, Romero said, were 'too delicate' to touch. But in general, he said boxing and the cartel walked separate paths in Culiacan. 'We don't have anything to do with organized crime,' he said. 'On the contrary, it's a clean sport, very healthy from my point of view.'
