Boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. was scooped up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials for what was described as an “active arrest warrant” in his native Mexico that tied him to a transnational crime syndicate the Trump administration has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
Chávez, 39, was taken into custody just days after losing a bout to social-media-celebrity-turned-boxer Jake Paul on Saturday in Anaheim, California, according to The Associated Press.
Department of Homeland Security officials announced the arrest on Thursday. The agency had initially determined that he should be arrested on June 27, but didn’t act until after the high-profile bout.
The AP reported that Chávez was picked up Wednesday by “a large number of federal agents while he was riding a scooter in front of a home where he resides in the upscale Los Angeles neighborhood of Studio City near Hollywood.”
His lawyer described the arrest as specious.
“The current allegations are outrageous and simply another headline to terrorize the community,” attorney Michael Goldstein said.
However, the DHS and ICE said in a media statement that Chávez’s record in Mexico, including an affiliation with the Sinaloa Cartel, warranted expulsion from the U.S.
“Chavez is a Mexican citizen who has an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives,” the news release stated.
“Chavez is also believed to be an affiliate of the Sinaloa Cartel, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,” the release added, noting that his attempt to gain permanent residency in the United States contained “multiple fraudulent statements” and connected him to bad actors.
“On April 2, 2024, Chavez filed application for Lawful Permanent Resident status. Chavez’s application was based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen, who is connected to the Sinaloa Cartel through a prior relationship with the now-deceased son of the infamous cartel leader Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman,” the release noted.
And while immigration officials deemed Chávez “an egregious public safety threat” in December, “an entry in a DHS law enforcement system under the Biden administration indicated Chavez was not an immigration enforcement priority.”
“On January 4, 2025, the Biden administration allowed Chavez to reenter the country and paroled him into the country at the San Ysidro port of entry,” the DHS release stated. “Following multiple fraudulent statements on his application to become a Lawful Permanent Resident, he was determined to be in the country illegally and removable on June 27, 2025.”
“This Sinaloa Cartel affiliate with an active arrest warrant for trafficking guns, ammunition, and explosives was arrested by ICE,” Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the release.
“It is shocking the previous administration flagged this criminal illegal alien as a public safety threat, but chose to not prioritize his removal,”
“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.”
It wasn’t clear Saturday morning when Chávez Jr. would be deported, though the AP reported Friday that he was “being processed for expedited removal.”
Chávez Jr., son of one of the most accomplished boxers and athletes in Mexican history, has had his career marred by a battle with drug addiction.
In addition to a number of failed drug tests and subsequent suspensions from boxing, CBS News rather charitably noted that he’d also been “widely criticized for his intermittent dedication to the sport” during his career.
Despite that fact, Chávez Jr. became a world title holder in 2011 at the age of 25 with a victory over German Sebastian Zbik at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. He’s won 54 of his 63 fights, 34 by knockout, with seven losses and a draw.
His loss to Paul was just the second fight he’s had since December of 2021, the other being a win over Jamaican-American Uriah Hall by unanimous decision in July of 2024.
In 2012, meanwhile, he was convicted of drunk driving for an incident in Los Angeles and in 2024, authorities picked him up on gun charges, according to CBS. While that case is still pending, authorities let him free on $50,000 bond on the condition that he seek drug rehabilitation.
His criminal record below the border, however, is significantly more troublesome. In March of 2023, Mexican authorities issued a warrant against a “Julio C” on organized crime and firearms trafficking charges, according to the AP.
A federal agent told the AP that “Julio C” is indeed Chávez, although that has not been stated publicly until the DHS media release seemed to confirm it.
In Mexico, the AP reported a mixed reaction to the arrest of one of the country’s best-known athletes.
“I think that the U.S. government — in this case, Trump – is up to something,” Mexico City newspaper seller Martín Sandoval Peñaloza told the news agency, adding that the president wanted “to attract media attention.”
Mexico City storekeeper Oscar Tienda wasn’t so sure, however.
“I think it was predictable because he has had a lifetime of drug use,” Tienda said.
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