07/03/25 05:25:00
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07/03 17:24 CDT Mexican boxer Julio Csar Chvez Jr. arrested by ICE for
deportation, federal officials say
Mexican boxer Julio Csar Chvez Jr. arrested by ICE for deportation, federal
officials say
By JAIMIE DING and JULIE WATSON
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- Famed Mexican boxer Julio Csar Chvez Jr. has been
arrested for overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application and
will be deported to Mexico, where he faces organized crime charges, U.S.
federal officials said Thursday.
The arrest came only days after the former middleweight champion lost a match
against influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul in Anaheim, California. The
Department of Homeland Security said officials determined Chvez should be
arrested on June 27, a day before the fight. It was unclear why they waited to
act for days after the high-profile event.
The 39-year-old boxer, according to his attorney Michael Goldstein, 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.
"The current allegations are outrageous and simply another headline to
terrorize the community," Goldstein said.
Many people across Southern California are on edge as immigration arrests have
ramped up, prompting protests and the federal deployment of National Guard
troops and U.S. Marines to downtown Los Angeles.
Goldstein did not know where Chvez was being detained as of Thursday morning,
but said he and his client were due in court Monday in connection with gun
possession charges from last year.
Before his bout with Paul on Saturday, Chvez had fought just once since 2021,
having fallen to innumerable lows during a lengthy boxing career conducted in
the shadow of his father, Julio Csar Chvez, one of the most beloved athletes
in Mexican history and a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame who
won championships in several weight classes.
The son, who has battled drug addiction for much of his career, has been
arrested repeatedly. In 2012, he was convicted of drunk driving in Los Angeles
and sentenced to 13 days in jail and 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 he went to a residential drug treatment
facility. The case is still pending, with Chvez reporting his progress
regularly.
He split his time between both countries. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
officers detained Chvez for overstaying a tourist visa that he entered the
U.S. with in August 2023 and expired in February 2024, the Department of
Homeland Security said.
The agency also said Chvez submitted multiple fraudulent statements when he
applied for permanent residency on April 2, 2024, based on his marriage to a
U.S. citizen, Frida Muoz. She is the mother of a granddaughter of imprisoned
Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
U.S. officials said he is believed to be an affiliate of the powerful Sinaloa
Cartel that is blamed for a significant portion of Mexico's drug violence.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services flagged Immigration and Customs
Enforcement about Chvez on Dec. 17, saying he "is an egregious public safety
threat," and yet he was allowed back into the country without a visa on Jan. 4
under the Biden administration, the agency said.
Mexico's Attorney General's Office said that an arrest warrant against "Julio
"C was issued in Mexico in March 2023 in an investigation of organized crime
and arms trafficking allegations and that Mexico on Thursday initiated
extradition proceedings.
A federal agent who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to speak publicly on the matter confirmed to The Associated Press
that "Julio C" is Chvez. The agent declined to explain why Chvez was not
arrested earlier in Mexico despite going back and forth between the two
countries multiple times.
Despite failing drug tests, serving suspensions and egregiously missing weight
while being widely criticized for his intermittent dedication to the sport,
Chvez still rose to its heights. He won the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and
defending it three times. Chvez shared the ring with generational greats
Canelo Alvarez and Sergio Martinez, losing to both.
Chvez claimed to be clean for the Paul fight. He looked in his best shape in
years while preparing for the match.
Chvez said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times ahead of his fight with
Paul that he and his trainers were shaken by the immigration arrests.
"There are a lot of good people, and you're giving the community an example of
violence," Chvez said. "After everything that's happened, I wouldn't want to
be deported."
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Associated Press journalists Carlos Rodriguez and Fabiola Sanchez in Mexico
City contributed to this story. Watson reported from San Diego.
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