MEXICO CITY — Boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. has been sent back to Mexico amid allegations of cartel connections, after being detained in the U.S. for visa violations and false statements on a green card application.

Chávez was transferred to Mexican authorities and placed in a prison in Sonora, according to an official who spoke to The Associated Press anonymously, as they were not permitted to discuss the case publicly.

The 39-year-old boxer had a Mexican arrest warrant for alleged involvement in arms and drug trafficking linked to the Sinaloa Cartel. Mexico’s attorney general, Alejandro Gertz Manero, stated the investigation began in 2019.

Chávez, son of renowned Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez, was detained on July 3, not long after his major fight with Jake Paul in California.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said after the arrest she hoped the boxer would be deported to face his charges.

Chávez’s father was a major figure in the 1980s and ’90s, known for mingling with drug traffickers and admitting friendships with known drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes.

The younger Chávez has battled drug addiction for much of his boxing career, failing drug tests, serving suspensions and egregiously missing weight while being widely criticized for his intermittent dedication to the sport.

Chavez won the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and defended it three times. He shared the ring with generational greats Canelo Álvarez and Sergio Martinez, losing to both.

In 2012, he was convicted of drunken driving in Los Angeles and sentenced to 13 days in jail. In January 2024, he was arrested on gun charges. Police said he possessed two AR-style ghost rifles. He was later freed on a $50,000 bond and on the condition he went to a residential drug treatment facility. The case is still pending, with Chávez reporting his progress regularly.