Julio César Chávez Jr arrested by US ICE officials days after Jake Paul fight
Chávez Jr was arrested for overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application and will be deported to Mexico, where he faces organised crime charges, US federal officials said Thursday.
The Department of Homeland Security said officials determined Chávez Jr should be arrested on June 27, a day before the fight.
It was unclear why they waited to act until 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 neighbourhood of Studio City near Hollywood.
"The current allegations are outrageous and simply another headline to terrorise the community," Mr Goldstein said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained Chávez Jr for overstaying a tourist visa on which he entered the US in August 2023 and which expired in February 2024, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The agency also said Chávez Jr submitted multiple fraudulent statements when he applied for permanent residency on April 2, 2024, based on his marriage to a US citizen, Frida Muñoz.
She is the mother of a granddaughter of imprisoned Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
US officials said Chávez Jr is believed to be an affiliate of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel that is blamed for a significant portion of Mexico's drug violence.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services flagged Immigration and Customs Enforcement about Chávez Jr on December 17, saying he "is an egregious public safety threat", but he was allowed back into the country without a visa on January 4 under the Biden administration, the agency said.
Mr Goldstein did not know where Chávez Jr was being detained as of Thursday morning local time, but said he and his client were due in court on Monday in connection with gun possession charges from last year.
Mr Chávez Jr 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 $US50,000 ($76,000) bond and on condition that he went to a residential drug treatment facility.
That case is still pending.
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 organised 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 authorised to speak publicly on the matter confirmed to The Associated Press that "Julio C" is Chávez Jr.
The agent declined to explain why Chávez Jr was not arrested earlier in Mexico despite going back and forth between the two countries multiple times.
Chávez Jr won the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and defended it three times.
He fought generational greats Canelo Álvarez and Sergio Martinez, losing both fights.
He lost to Paul in their bout on June 29.
AP
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