Boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. has been deported to Mexico, where he’s wanted for alleged cartel ties, following his arrest in the U.S. for overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application.
Chávez was handed over by authorities and admitted to a prison in the northern state of Sonora, an official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Chávez, 39, had a warrant for his arrest in Mexico for alleged arms and drug trafficking and ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, which the Trump administration designated a foreign terror organization in February. Alejandro Gertz Manero, Mexico’s attorney general, said the investigation into Chávez started in 2019. Chávez is a Mexican citizen and a former WBC middleweight world champion.
U.S. immigration officials arrested Chávez on July 2 in Los Angeles — days after his high-profile fight with Jake Paul — for overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application, officials have said. Chávez was detained in front of his home and was set to be deported to Mexico, authorities said last month.
The Department of Homeland Security said last month that Chávez overstayed a tourist visa that he entered the U.S. with in August 2023, which expired in February 2024.
DHS said Chávez submitted multiple fraudulent statements when he applied for permanent residency on April 2, 2024, based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen, Frida Muñoz.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said after the arrest that she hoped the boxer would be deported to face his charges. During a news conference earlier Tuesday, Sheinbaum was asked about Chávez’s deportation.
“I understand he was deported,” Sheinbaum told reporters. “I don’t know if it was yesterday or this morning. But they told us he will come to Mexico.”
Chávez is the son of legendary Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez. His father was a massive celebrity in the 1980s and 1990s who mixed social circles with drug dealers and claimed to have been friends with drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes.
The younger Chávez has battled drug addiction for much of his boxing career, failing drug tests, serving suspensions and egregiously missing weight while being widely criticized for his intermittent dedication to the sport.
Chavez won the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and defended it three times. He shared the ring with generational greats Canelo Álvarez and Sergio Martinez, losing to both.
In 2012, he was convicted of drunken driving in L.A. and sentenced to 13 days in jail. In January 2024, he was arrested on gun charges. Police said he possessed two AR-style ghost rifles. He was later freed on a $50,000 bond and on condition that he went to a residential drug treatment facility. The case is still pending, with Chávez reporting his progress regularly.
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