Julio César Chávez Jr. to face trial over alleged cartel ties – NBC New York
A choose in Mexico stated boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. will stand trial over alleged cartel ties and arms trafficking however might await that trial outdoors of detention, the boxer’s lawyer stated.
Chávez’s lawyer, Rubén Fernando Benítez Alvarez, confirmed that the court docket imposed further measures and granted three months of additional investigation into the case. He described the claims towards his shopper as “hypothesis” and “city legends” following the court docket listening to on Saturday within the northern Mexican metropolis of Hermosillo.
If convicted, Chávez — who took half within the listening to nearly from a detention facility — might face a jail sentence of between 4 and eight years, Alvarez stated.
Chávez, 39, who had been residing in the USA for a number of years, was arrested in early July by federal brokers outdoors his Los Angeles dwelling for overstaying his visa and offering inaccurate particulars on an utility to get hold of a inexperienced card. The arrest got here simply days after a combat he had with famed American boxer Jake Paul in Los Angeles.
Since 2019, Mexican prosecutors have been investigating the boxer following a criticism filed by U.S. authorities towards the Sinaloa Cartel for organized crime, human trafficking, arms trafficking and drug trafficking.
The case led to investigations towards 13 folks, amongst them Ovidio Guzmán López — the son of convicted drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán — together with some collaborators, hitmen and accomplices of the felony group. Guzmán López was arrested in January 2023 and extradited to the U.S. eight months later.
Following the inquiry, the Federal Lawyer Common’s Workplace issued a number of arrest warrants, together with one towards Chávez.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum stated Chávez was needed since 2023 in Mexico, however that he wasn’t detained as a result of he spent more often than not within the U.S.
“The hope is that he can be deported and serve the sentence in Mexico,” Sheinbaum stated in July.
The boxer, who’s the son of Mexican boxing nice Julio César Chávez, was deported by the U.S. on Aug. 19 and handed over to brokers of the Federal Lawyer Common’s Workplace in Sonora state, who transferred him to the Federal Social Reintegration Middle in Hermosillo.
The excessive profile case come because the Trump administration is pressuring Mexico to crack down on organized crime, canceling visas of notable Mexican artists and celebrities and ramping up deportations.
Chávez has struggled with drug dependancy all through his profession and has been arrested a number of occasions. In 2012, he was discovered responsible of driving beneath the affect in Los Angeles and was sentenced to 13 days in jail.
He was arrested final yr for weapons possession. Police reported that Chávez had two rifles. He was launched shortly afterward upon posting $50,000 bail, on the situation that he attend a facility to obtain therapy for his dependancy.
