Julio César Chávez Jr.'s Longstanding Ties to Sinaloa Cartel Include Family Connections, Journalist Says

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced last week that Mexican boxing star Julio César Chávez Jr. had been arrested in California and would be deported. also mentioning alleged ties to the Sinaloa Cartel.

In a statement, the agency said Chávez Jr. — a former world champion and the son of boxing legend Julio César Chávez — has an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his alleged involvement in organized crime, including trafficking firearms, ammunition and explosives.

Just days after his arrest, Mexican investigative journalist Anabel Hernández said Chávez Jr. has longstanding connections to the cartel once led by Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán — including family ties — and that his residence in the United States prior to being taken into custody on July 2 could be linked to the recent plea deal reached by Ovidio Guzmán López, El Chapo's son, with U.S. prosecutors.

In an interview with Aristegui Noticias on July 4, she noted that Chávez Jr. married Frida Muñoz, who was previously married to Édgar Guzmán López, one of El Chapo's sons who was killed in 2008. According to Hernández, Édgar was considered to be the drug lord's favorite son, and Muñoz was allowed to remain part of the family's inner circle after his 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.

The journalist also suggested the possibility that Chávez Jr.'s residence in the United States could be connected to agreements made between U.S. authorities and Ovidio Guzmán as part of his ongoing legal proceedings.

Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York announced it had concluded its case against Ovidio Guzman, also known as "El Ratón," and that the case was being transferred to a federal court in Chicago, where he is expected to plead guilty on July 9 to five charges, including drug trafficking and money laundering.

Since his extradition, Ovidio Guzman's legal team has been in negotiations with U.S. prosecutors to reach a deal that could reduce his sentence and offer protection to certain family members in exchange for intelligence on rival cartels.

Among the benefits received by El Ratón in exchange for information was protection extended to over a dozen of his relatives, who entered the United States in May.

Hernández questioned the circumstances under which Chávez Jr. had been living in the United States at the time of his arrest.

"Frida Muñoz is considered like a sister by the families of Griselda, Joaquín and Ovidio Guzmán. She has always been deeply connected to them," she said. "It's worth asking whether Julio César Chávez Jr. entered the U.S. as part of this group, along with his wife and stepdaughter. We need to understand the conditions under which he was allowed into the country."

Hernández also raised questions about the handling of the case by Mexican authorities.

"If prosecutors truly had charges against Julio César Chávez Jr., why didn't they announce them? Why was it the U.S. government that made the arrest public, and not Mexico?" she asked.

She noted that although the arrest warrant was issued in 2023, the investigation began as early as 2019. In her view, the delay reflects a lack of political will by Mexican authorities to confront the ties between public figures and organized crime.