Mexican Boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. Arrested by ICE for Deportation, Federal Officials Say
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 Chávez 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 boxer was riding a scooter when agents detained him
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 Chávez was being detained as of Thursday morning, but said he and his client were due in court Monday in connection with prior gun possession charges.
Chávez's family issued a statement Thursday afternoon in support of him, the Los Angeles Times reported.
'We have full confidence in his innocence,' the statement said. 'We firmly believe that the proper course is to allow the competent authorities to carry out their work without external pressure or speculation.'
Before his recent bout, Chavez fought once since 2021
Before his bout with Paul on Saturday, Chávez had fought just once since 2021, having fallen to innumerable lows during a lengthy boxing career conducted in the shadow of his father, Julio César Chávez, 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 Chávez reporting his progress regularly.
He split his time between both countries. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained Chávez 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 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. 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.
Federal officials called Chavez a public safety threat
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services flagged Immigration and Customs Enforcement about Chávez 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 Chávez. The agent declined to explain why Chávez was not arrested earlier in Mexico despite going back and forth between the two countries multiple times.
In Mexico, mixed feelings followed the arrest
In Mexico, word of U.S. agents arresting a well-known athlete prompted mixed feelings.
Martín Sandoval Peñaloza, a newspaper seller in Mexico City, said he believes President Donald Trump wanted to make him an example.
'I think that the U.S. government – in this case, Trump – is up to something,' he said, adding that it was 'to attract media attention.'
Oscar Tienda, a Mexico City storekeeper, said he wasn't surprised given the boxer's troubles.
'I think it was predictable because he has had a lifetime of drug use,' he said.
Despite widely being criticized for his intermittent dedication to the sport, Chávez still rose to its heights. He won the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and defended it three times. Chávez shared the ring with generational greats Canelo Álvarez and Sergio Martinez, losing to both.
Chávez claimed to be clean for the Paul fight. He looked in his best shape in years while preparing for the match.
Chávez 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,' Chávez said. 'After everything that's happened, I wouldn't want to be deported.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
8 hours ago
- Japan Today
68-year-old woman found dead at home; husband missing
A 68-year-old woman was found dead by her son at their house in Daito City, Osaka Prefecture, on Thursday. The woman's husband, who is in his early 80s, has gone missing, police said. According to police, the woman's son, who is in his 40s, found her body at around 8:55 p.m., Kansai TV reported. Police said the victim, Kazuko Sato, was lying face-up on her futon in a Japanese-style room on the third floor. There were strangulation marks around her neck and she was confirmed dead at the scene. Police said they have not been able to contact the victim's husband. A note was left at the scene, in which he alluded to having killed his wife. In addition to the note, a thin rope believed to have been used to strangle the victim, was found at the scene. © Japan Today
Yomiuri Shimbun
14 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Michael Madsen, ‘Reservoir Dogs' and ‘Kill Bill' Star, Dies at 67
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Madsen, the actor best known for his coolly menacing, steely-eyed, often sadistic characters in the films of Quentin Tarantino including 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Kill Bill: Vol. 2,' has died. Madsen was found unresponsive in his home in Malibu, California, on Thursday morning and pronounced dead, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Watch Commander Christopher Jauregui said. He is believed to have died of natural causes and authorities do not suspect any foul play was involved. Madsen's manager Ron Smith said cardiac arrest was the apparent cause. He was 67. Madsen's career spanned more than 300 credits stretching back to the early 1980s, many in low-budget and independent films. He often played low-level thugs, gangsters and shady cops in small roles. Tarantino would use that identity, but make him a main character. His torture of a captured police officer in Tarantino's 1992 directorial debut 'Reservoir Dogs,' in which Madsen's black-suited bank robber Vic 'Mr. Blonde' Vega severs the man's ear while dancing to Stealers Wheel's 'Stuck in the Middle with You' was an early career-defining moment for both director and actor. Madsen told the Associated Press in 2012 that he hated having to do the scene, especially after the actor playing the officer, Kirk Baltz, ad-libbed a line where he begged for his life because he had children. 'I just said, 'Oh my God,' I couldn't do it, I didn't want to do it,' Madsen said. 'Acting is such a humiliating profession.' He would become a Tarantino regular. He had a small role as the cowboy-hatted desert dweller Budd, a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, in 2003's 'Kill Bill: Vol. 1,' then a starring role the following year in the sequel, in which he battles with Uma Thurman's protagonist The Bride and buries her alive. Madsen also appeared in Tarantino's 'The Hateful Eight' and 'Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood.' He was an alternate choice to play the hit man role that revived John Travolta's career in 1994's 'Pulp Fiction.' The character, Vincent Vega, is the brother of Madsen's 'Reservoir Dogs' robber in Tarantino's cinematic universe. His sister, Oscar-nominated 'Sideways' actor Virginia Madsen, was among those paying him tribute on Thursday. 'He was thunder and velvet. Mischief wrapped in tenderness. A poet disguised as an outlaw. A father, a son, a brother—etched in contradiction, tempered by love that left its mark,' she said in a statement. 'I'll miss our inside jokes, the sudden laughter, the sound of him. I'll miss the boy he was before the legend. I miss my big brother.' His 'Hateful Eight' co-star and fellow Tarantino favorite Walton Goggins celebrated him on Instagram. 'Michael Madsen… this man… this artist… this poet… this rascal…' Goggins wrote. 'Aura like no one else. Ain't enough words so I'll just say this…. I love you buddy. A H8TER forever.' James Woods, Madsen's co-star in two films, wrote on X, 'I was always touched by his sweet nature and generosity, the absolute opposite of the 'tough guys' he portrayed so brilliantly.' Madsen was born in Chicago to a family of three children. He performed on stage with the city's Steppenwolf Theatre Company alongside actors including John Malkovich. During a handprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre in November 2020, Madsen reflected on his first visit to Hollywood in the early 1980s. 'I got out and I walked around and I looked and I wondered if there were someday some way that that was going to be a part of me. And I didn't know because I didn't know what I was going to do at that point with myself,' he said. 'I could have been a bricklayer. I could have been an architect. I could have been a garbage man. I could have been nothing. But I got lucky. I got lucky as an actor.' His first film role of any significance was in the 1983 hacker thriller 'WarGames' with Matthew Broderick. The following year he played pro baseball player Bump Bailey alongside Robert Redford in 'The Natural.' He spent much of the rest of the 1980s doing one-off guest roles on television dramas including 'Miami Vice' and 'Quantum Leap.' 1991 would bring a career boost with roles in 'The Doors,' where he played a buddy of Val Kilmer's Jim Morrison, and 'Thelma and Louise' where he played the boyfriend of Susan Sarandon's Louise. Then would come 'Reservoir Dogs.' In 1995, he played a black ops mercenary in the sci-fi thriller 'Species' and in 1997 he was third billed after Al Pacino and Johnny Depp as a member of a crew of gangsters in 'Donnie Brasco.' He occasionally played against type. In the 1993 family orca adventure 'Free Willy' he was the foster father to the orphan protagonist. Madsen would return to smaller roles but worked constantly in the final two decades of his career. Madsen had six children. He had struggled in recent years after the 2022 death of one of his sons, Hudson. 'Losing a child is the hardest and most painful experience that can happen in this world,' Madsen said in an Instagram post last year. He said the loss put a strain on his marriage to third wife, DeAnna Madsen. He was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery last year, but was not charged. He filed for divorce, but asked that the filing be dismissed just weeks later. He had previously been arrested twice on suspicion of DUI, most recently in 2019, when he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor. 'In the last two years Michael Madsen has been doing some incredible work with independent film including upcoming feature films 'Resurrection Road,' 'Concessions and 'Cookbook for Southern Housewives,' and was really looking forward to this next chapter in his life,' his managers Smith and Susan Ferris and publicist Liz Rodriguez said in a statement. 'Michael was also preparing to release a new book called 'Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts and Poems' currently being edited.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
14 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Mexican Boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. Arrested by ICE for Deportation, Federal Officials Say
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Famed Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez 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 Chávez 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 boxer was riding a scooter when agents detained him 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 Chávez was being detained as of Thursday morning, but said he and his client were due in court Monday in connection with prior gun possession charges. Chávez's family issued a statement Thursday afternoon in support of him, the Los Angeles Times reported. 'We have full confidence in his innocence,' the statement said. 'We firmly believe that the proper course is to allow the competent authorities to carry out their work without external pressure or speculation.' Before his recent bout, Chavez fought once since 2021 Before his bout with Paul on Saturday, Chávez had fought just once since 2021, having fallen to innumerable lows during a lengthy boxing career conducted in the shadow of his father, Julio César Chávez, 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 Chávez reporting his progress regularly. He split his time between both countries. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained Chávez 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 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. 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. Federal officials called Chavez a public safety threat U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services flagged Immigration and Customs Enforcement about Chávez 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 Chávez. The agent declined to explain why Chávez was not arrested earlier in Mexico despite going back and forth between the two countries multiple times. In Mexico, mixed feelings followed the arrest In Mexico, word of U.S. agents arresting a well-known athlete prompted mixed feelings. Martín Sandoval Peñaloza, a newspaper seller in Mexico City, said he believes President Donald Trump wanted to make him an example. 'I think that the U.S. government – in this case, Trump – is up to something,' he said, adding that it was 'to attract media attention.' Oscar Tienda, a Mexico City storekeeper, said he wasn't surprised given the boxer's troubles. 'I think it was predictable because he has had a lifetime of drug use,' he said. Despite widely being criticized for his intermittent dedication to the sport, Chávez still rose to its heights. He won the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and defended it three times. Chávez shared the ring with generational greats Canelo Álvarez and Sergio Martinez, losing to both. Chávez claimed to be clean for the Paul fight. He looked in his best shape in years while preparing for the match. Chávez 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,' Chávez said. 'After everything that's happened, I wouldn't want to be deported.'
