Following the tragic death of his brother Rafael, boxing legend Julio César Chávez has been vocal about the necessary steps needed to ensure the safety of people in western Mexico.
“The investigation has moved along a lot, thank God, and this is not going to end without some type of action, I swear to you. The government unfortunately has brought an uncertainty to Culiacan, and not only Culiacan, but this is happening in the entire country of Mexico,” said the 54-year-old six-time champion.
Chavez continued, “I think that all Mexicans must come together to speak out against it and to support each other because it seems to me that there is no law enforcement. The increasing number of murders, kidnappings, they are only growing. Today it was my brother. Tomorrow it might be me. I am very outraged.”
According to Sinaloa state prosecutor Juan Jose Rios, Rafael Chávez Gonzalez was killed Sunday night after being shot three times in the head with a .22-caliber pistol. Rios said that two men entered through the back of Gonzalez’s house in Culiacan, and that one of them demanded that González give them money. After an undisclosed amount of money was handed over, the men insisted they needed more. When Gonzalez refused to give them anything else, the men shot him in front of his family.
Chávez is especially shocked because his brother was known in the community for his life of service; he ran a clinic for addicts that served about 250 people. “It seems a little bizarre to me. Everyone knew what my brother did for a living. He dedicated his entire life to helping people who had drug and alcohol problems or any type of addiction.”
The legendary boxer also stated that he was recently told by the FBI that his and his daughters lives could be in danger. “I am very angry, very very angry because I have received threats that I would be kidnapped and I had already asked the authorities in Tijuana to help me, and they have ignored me,” he said.
After receiving threats, Chavez reached out to the governor of the federal territory of Baja California, Francisco Vega de Lamadrid. “I think they are waiting for something to happen to me to take action, but I have no idea why. This happened in Tijuana, it was a threat that I would be kidnapped. They have already identified the person who made the threat, and I am not going to name names so as not to alert them. But it was someone who was in prison, and the authorities let that person go, and now he is out kidnapping, killing and stealing from people.”