Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. is detained in Mexico and faces drug trafficking accusations after being deported from the United States, Mexican authorities said on Tuesday (19).
Son of Boxing Legend Julio César Chavez, the boxer, whose sports career is declining at age 39, is accused in Mexico of involvement with organized crime and arms trafficking.
In the United States, where he was arrested last month for being illegally in the country, he is named to have ties with the Slander Cartel, classified as a “global terrorist” organization by President Donald Trump’s government.
Chávez Jr. was deported on Monday (18) and transferred by federal police to a prison in the city of Hermosillo, the capital of the state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico, the National Detention Registry said.
The boxer was arrested on July 2 in Los Angeles by agents of the Immigration and Customs Service (ICE) after providing fraudulent information at his permanent residence request in the United States.
Subsequently, the Mexican prosecutor informed the US authorities that Chavez Jr. had had a pending arrest warrant in Mexico since March 2023.
The extradition of Chavez Jr. occurs at a time when the Trump government adopts drastic measures against irregular immigration.
After the arrest, the defense of the boxer tried to prevent his trial in Mexico through a series of legal appeals, all rejected by the Mexican court.
The prosecutor maintained the details of the accusation confidential, but, according to local press, Chavez Jr. would have ties with the sons of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, one of the founders of the Sinaloa cartel, sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States. Two children of Guzmán are also arrested in that country.
According to reports that claim to have had access to the process, the sportsman would have acted as a “account adjuster”, responsible for punishing members of the criminal organization.
“He hang them (…) treats them as a bag of punch,” published the newspaper Reform, citing a testimony contained in the prosecutor’s process.
Chavez Jr.’s case led Undersecretary of the United States Internal Security Department, Tricia McLaughlin, to comment in the context of Washington policy against drug cartels.
“Under the presidency of Trump, no one is above the law, not even worldwide athletes,” McLaughlin said in early July. “Our message to any cartel affiliate in the United States of course: we will find them and they will face the consequences.”
The boxer’s arrest only four days after he starred in one of the most publicized boxes of the year, when he was defeated by local fighter Jake Paul.
According to US authorities, Chavez Jr. legally entered the country in 2023, with a tourist visa valid until February 2024.
In April of the same year, he filed a permanent residence request due to marriage to an American citizen, who was also pointed out as having connections with the Sinaloa Cartel.
