Troubled boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will be deported and, hopefully, imprisoned in his native Mexico, that country’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, said Friday after the 39-year-old was arrested by ICE agents in Los Angeles.
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 .
Chavez Jr. could be imprisoned in Mexico on a variety of allegations, Sheinbaum said
Mexica President Claudia Sheinbaum wants Chavez returned to the country and jailed
‘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’.
Internet-star-turned-boxer Paul pictured alongside Chavez Snr after the fight on Saturday
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.
Speaking to the AP, Goldstein said he did not know where his client was being detained on Thursday morning. Goldstein says Chavez is due in court on Monday in connection with prior gun possession charges.
