Former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr has been jailed in Mexico following his arrest earlier this year in the United States.
The 39-year-old Mexican boxer was taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Los Angeles, just days after fighting Jake Paul in Anaheim.
According to Mexico’s national arrest registry, Chavez Jr was stopped at a checkpoint in the border city of Nogales on Tuesday morning before being transferred to a federal prison in Hermosillo, Sonora.
Deportation Confirmed by Mexican President
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, confirmed in her daily press briefing that Chavez Jr had been deported. She also noted that there is an active warrant against him for alleged involvement in arms trafficking and organised crime.
While prosecutors are working on the case, Mexico’s attorney general’s office has so far declined to provide details.
Family Rejects Allegations
Chavez Jr, who famously held the WBC middleweight world title from 2011 to 2012, is the son of Mexican boxing legend Julio Cesar Chavez, a three-weight world champion.
Prosecutors allege that Chavez Jr worked as a henchman for the notorious Sinaloa cartel, a group labelled a foreign terrorist organisation by Washington earlier this year.
However, his lawyer and family strongly deny the claims, calling the accusations false and unjust.
What’s Next?
Chavez Jr is currently locked up in northern Mexico while the case moves forward. His family continues to defend him, and people in Mexico and around the world are watching closely.
