On July 3, ICE arrested Chavez Jr. His visa had run out, he was staying in the US illegally, and there was a warrant for his arrest back in Mexico. This wasn't his first run-in with the law in California. He'd been arrested before for having an illegal weapon and driving under the influence.
The hearing on Monday was supposed to decide his sentence for a weapons charge from January 2024. But Chavez Jr. wasn't there. The court set a new date for August 21.
Michael Goldstein, Chavez Jr.'s lawyer, is worried. He doesn't know where his client is or if he's even still in the US. Goldstein can't find Chavez Jr. on ICE's online list of people they're holding. But that's not unusual - it can take a while for names to show up there.
Before all this happened, Chavez Jr. had started a program to avoid trial. He'd been doing it for five months on his own.
The plan was to send Chavez Jr. to Hidalgo, Texas. The Department of Homeland Security was going to take him there to send him back to Mexico quickly.
In Mexico, Chavez Jr. faces some serious charges. They say he's involved with organized crime and selling weapons. They think he's connected to the Sinaloa Cartel, which the US calls a terrorist group.
There's more to the story. Chavez Jr. is married to Frida Munoz, whose ex-husband was El Chapo's son. This connection to the Sinaloa Cartel caught the eye of Homeland Security.
Chavez Jr.'s team in Mexico has been busy. They've filed five requests to keep him out of jail when he gets back. The US has known about the arrest warrant in Mexico since at least 2023.
Right now, no one's sure exactly where Chavez Jr. is. He might still be with ICE, or he could be in a high-security prison in Texas. Wherever he is, they're working on sending him back to Mexico.
In Mexico, they're saying Chavez Jr. is still working with the Sinaloa Cartel, helping to move weapons, bullets, and explosives around.