Latest news with #armstrafficking
The Independent
07-07-2025
- The Independent
Boxing great Julio César Chávez defends son arrested by US immigration agents
As a professional, Julio César Chávez fought 115 times in the ring. Now, the former world champion said he was ready to fight outside of it to defend his same-name son, who was arrested by U.S. immigration agents at his Los Angeles home for overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application. The 39-year-old Chávez Junior also has an active warrant for his arrest in Mexico for alleged arms and drug trafficking and suggested ties to the Sinaloa Cartel. 'It's complicated, there's a lot of talk, but we're calm because we know my son's innocence,' the elder Chavez told El Heraldo newspaper. 'My son will be anything you want, anything, but he is not a criminal and less everything he's being accused of.' Alejandro Gertz Manero, Mexico's Attorney General, said on Sunday that the investigation against Chávez Junior started in 2019 after a complaint filed by U.S. authorities against the Sinaloa Cartel for organized crime, human trafficking, arms trafficking, and drug trafficking. 'He knows a lot of people, we live in Culiacan, it would be impossible not to know all of the people that are doing illicit stuff, but that does not mean nothing,' Chavez said. 'In my time I met everybody, and they did not come after me.' Chávez senior was considered one of the best Mexican boxers of all time; a world champion at three divisions. In the 1980s and '90s he was a huge celebrity who mixed with drug dealers. He claimed in the past to have been friends with drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes. Gertz Manero said Chavez Junior's lawyers have requested at least five injunctions in Mexico, which have been rejected because the boxer is still in the United States. 'Lawyers in the United States are working to see if he stays there, and we're prepared if he comes here," Chavez senior said. "We'll fight under Mexican law if he's transferred here." The son's arrest came only days after the former middleweight champion lost to influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a bout in Anaheim, California. The Department of Homeland Security said officials determined Chávez Junior should be arrested on June 27, the day before the fight. It was unclear why they waited to act for days after the high-profile event. 'Why did they let him fight? My son has been paying taxes in the United States for three years, and now in Mexico they're accusing him of money laundering," Chavez senior said. "Yes, he knows those people, but that doesn't mean I'm a drug trafficker. Let's trust the law.' ___
ABC News
03-07-2025
- ABC News
Wife of pilot Daniel Duggan criticises changes to visiting hours at NSW jail
Saffrine Duggan says her heart breaks every time she watches her children farewell their father, Daniel, at a jail in western New South Wales. For months, she and her six kids have made a weekly four-hour round trip to visit him at the Macquarie Correctional Centre at Wellington. He is awaiting extradition to the United States, accused of breaching arms trafficking laws. Mr Duggan, an Australian citizen and a former US Marines pilot, is accused of training Chinese pilots at a South African flying school in 2012. He denies the charges and his family is challenging the extradition order in the Federal Court. "It's been horrendous," Ms Duggan said. "Dan has been in prison for over 32 months and 19 of those months were in solitary confinement. It's been exhausting. "I'm just hanging in there. So is my husband. "They [our children] always do a heart with their fingers on their heart to their dad and that just breaks my heart every single week." Ms Duggan has roused her children early on Sunday mornings to drive to the jail for a few hours together as a family. She says that has become harder because face-to-face visits on Sundays are no longer permitted. "We were not individually notified. I have to go on a government booking system that allows me to book the visit," Ms Duggan said. "I set my alarm for 10 past 12 on Sunday night to wake up so I can make sure that I can [book] a visit with my husband with the kids. "[While doing that] we noticed that you're not able to visit on a Sunday anymore." Sunday visits have been replaced by meetings via audio-visual links (AVL) to allow more inmates to see family and friends. "A three-month trial has commenced at the prison, whereby in-person visits on Sundays have been replaced with AVL visits from 7am to 5pm, allowing up to 90 inmates a visit," a Corrective Services NSW spokesperson said. "The trial brings Macquarie Correctional Centre more in line with the rest of the state and will be reviewed with staff and inmates upon completion. "The trial is being conducted at the request of inmates, who are hoping to lift the burden on families to travel long distances to the prison." The spokesperson said in-person visits were still allowed at Macquarie Correctional Centre on Saturdays from 8am to 4pm. "Corrective Services NSW understands the importance of ensuring inmates maintain a connection to their family and friends and facilitates both in-person and video visits at all NSW correctional centres," the spokesperson said. Ms Duggan said she had been trying to limit the emotional toll of her husband's incarceration on their children by ensuring they did not miss out on extracurricular activities. "I'm forced to make a decision on a Saturday whether my kids get to visit their dad or whether they get to do sport," Ms Duggan said. "I just find it emotionally like another slap in the face. "I'm a big believer that sport is helping with their courage to keep going, to help with their emotions, to regulate their emotions." She said her family was only able to visit once every few weeks. "Having a hug from your child lets all of your pain go away for just that moment. Having AVL is not the answer." Ms Duggan said her husband had also been denied visits from friends and was only permitted to see immediate family or legal representatives. "We do not understand why. He has been before [but] that has been overturned," she said. She said they had written to the commissioner of Corrective Services NSW but had not received a response. Corrective Services NSW declined to answer the ABC's questions about the change.
