Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Studio City, California, on Wednesday.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Chávez’s arrest in a Thursday press release, describing the 39-year-old former middleweight champion as a “public safety threat” with alleged links to the Sinaloa cartel.
“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 statement read.
The son of multiple-time world champion Julio César Chávez Sr., the boxer lost a high-profile 10-round bout with influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul this past Saturday.
In the statement, DHS said it was processing Chávez for expedited removal from the United States.
“Under President Trump, no one is above the law—including world-famous athletes,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the release. “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.”
Reached for comment by the Los Angeles Times, the boxer’s manager, Sean Gibbons, said his team was “working on a few issues” related to the arrest but declined to comment any further.
Michael A. Goldstein, an attorney representing Chávez, called the allegations against his client “outrageous” in a statement to The New York Times and said the boxer’s arrest appeared “to be designed as a headline to terrorize the community.”
Chávez’s representatives did not immediately return HuffPost’s inquiries.
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According to the agency, Chávez entered the U.S. under a legal B-2 tourist visa in August 2023 and applied for permanent resident status in April 2024.
His application was allegedly based on his marriage to U.S. citizen Frida Muñoz, who was married to Edgar Guzmán López, the son of Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, until his death in 2008.
President Donald Trump designated the Sinaloa Cartel a foreign terrorist organization upon assuming office in January.
In addition to Chávez’s alleged ties to the cartel, DHS cited his criminal record as a reason for his arrest. The boxer was convicted of DUI in 2012 and was arrested on illegal firearms charges in 2023 and 2024, according to DHS.
Chávez’s lawyer contends that his client had not been convicted of any gun charges and told the Times that he “fully expect[s] his only pending case to be dismissed.”
