Julio César Chávez Jr.'s Family Pleads For Prayers As Former Boxer Remains Unaccounted For Following ICE Arrest

More than a week after former world boxing champion Julio César Chávez Jr., son of Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez, was arrested in California by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, his whereabouts remain unknown. In the meantime, family members have taken to social media to share messages of support for the Mexican boxer.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detailed after arresting Chávez Jr. that he was alleged to have ties to organized crime, including being involved in the trafficking firearms, ammunition and explosives for the Sinaloa Cartel. Despite limited official information about the case, Chávez Sr. posted a message of hope for his son on social media.

The elder Chávez shared a series of stories on his Instagram account in support of his son, including an old photo of himself with him, along with the caption: "God is with us."

In another photo, believed to be from a family vacation and posted on June 10, he wrote: "I ask that you keep us in your prayers. Thank you to everyone who has sent messages of support. I love you, son."

Chávez Sr. has been speaking out about the case since the arrest of his son on July 2. Earlier this month, he acknowledged that living in Culiacán makes it difficult to avoid contact with people involved in criminal activity but said such associations don't necessarily imply criminal behavior.

"He knows a lot of people—we live in Culiacán. It's impossible not to know people involved in illegal things, but that doesn't mean anything," Chávez Sr. said. "Back in my day, I knew everyone, and no one ever came after me."

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told USA TODAY that there are no updates on Chávez Jr.'s location. As the outlet noted, individuals arrested by ICE often do not appear in the agency's public detainee locator system for several days while being processed. Although Chávez Jr. was reportedly arrested on July 2, his current status remains unclear.

His attorney, Michael Goldstein, told USA TODAY that Chávez Jr. was recently held by DHS in Hidalgo, Texas, but could not confirm whether his client was still in the United States. Goldstein is representing Chávez Jr. in a separate legal matter unrelated to the ICE case.

In addition to his father, Chávez Jr. has received public support from his wife, Frida Muñoz, who also posted prayers and messages for her husband on Instagram.

"Lord Almighty, I present to you the life of Julio César Chávez Carrasco," she wrote in one Instagram story. "Surround him with your divine protection. Guard his mind, heart and spirit. Show him he's not alone, that you are with him every step of the way."

Muñoz and Chávez Jr. got married in 2018, more than a decade after her previous husband, Édgar Guzmán López—the son of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán—was killed in a Culiacán shopping mall.

Mexican investigative journalist Anabel Hernández has argued that Chávez Jr.'s ties to the Sinaloa Cartel stem from his relationship with Muñoz, who she says has remained close to the Guzmán family despite Édgar Guzmán's death.

"Anyone who married her would have to pass through many filters set by this criminal clan, and the one who passed those filters and became the beneficiary of the fortune left to Frida by Guzmán López was Julio César Chávez Jr.," Hernández said in an interview last week.