A choose in Mexico mentioned 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 mentioned.
Chávez’s lawyer, Rubén Fernando Benítez Alvarez, confirmed that the courtroom imposed extra measures and granted three months of additional investigation into the case. He described the claims in opposition to his consumer as “hypothesis” and “city legends” following the courtroom listening to on Saturday in the northern Mexican metropolis of Hermosillo.
If convicted, Chávez — who took half in the listening to just about from a detention facility — might face a jail sentence of between 4 and eight years, Alvarez mentioned.
Chávez, 39, who had been residing in the United States for a number of years, was arrested in early July by federal brokers outdoors his Los Angeles house for overstaying his visa and offering inaccurate particulars on an software to receive a inexperienced card. The arrest got here simply days after a battle he had with famed American boxer Jake Paul in Los Angeles.
Since 2019, Mexican prosecutors have been investigating the boxer following a grievance filed by U.S. authorities in opposition to the Sinaloa Cartel for organized crime, human trafficking, arms trafficking and drug trafficking.
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The case led to investigations in opposition to 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 prison group. Guzmán López was arrested in January 2023 and extradited to the U.S. eight months later.
Following the inquiry, the Federal Attorney General’s Office issued a number of arrest warrants, together with one in opposition to Chávez.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum mentioned Chávez was wished since 2023 in Mexico, however that he wasn’t detained as a result of he spent more often than not in the U.S.
“The hope is that he can be deported and serve the sentence in Mexico,” Sheinbaum mentioned 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 Attorney General’s Office in Sonora state, who transferred him to the Federal Social Reintegration Center 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 habit all through his profession and has been arrested a number of occasions. In 2012, he was discovered responsible of driving underneath 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 remedy for his habit.
