An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer wanted on charges related to the shooting of a Venezuelan migrant during a Trump-era enforcement push has been taken into custody in Minnesota.
Christian Castro, 52, was booked into the Hennepin County Jail on Wednesday afternoon on an outstanding warrant, according to jail records. He is being held on $200,000 bail.
Castro is scheduled to appear in a Minneapolis courtroom on Thursday to face charges including four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime. He has not yet entered a plea. His attorney has not responded to requests for comment.
The charges stem from a January incident during Operation Metro Surge, a federal crackdown in the Twin Cities. Castro is accused of shooting Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg after a traffic stop went wrong, then lying to investigators about what happened.
Initially, the Department of Homeland Security claimed Castro fired a “defensive shot” after being attacked by three men wielding a snow shovel and a broom handle. But court documents later revealed that the men had dropped the weapons and were fleeing toward an apartment “as soon as [they] saw his pistol.”
After reviewing additional video evidence, the department acknowledged that Castro may have made “untruthful statements.” A federal grand jury has since indicted him on six counts of making materially false statements to investigators.
Castro had previously been released from a Texas jail in August after serving 90 days, following a judge’s decision not to intervene in an extradition dispute between Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The case has drawn attention to the use of federal agents in local policing and the legal battles between states over such operations.
Minneapolis has been a focal point for debates over policing and immigration enforcement, with local officials clashing with federal authorities over tactics. The city has also been dealing with other public safety issues, including a recent deadly apartment shooting that left two people dead and the gunman killed by police.
As Castro prepares for his court appearance, the case underscores the legal and political fallout from federal immigration enforcement actions in Democratic-led cities. It also raises questions about accountability for officers who may have used excessive force or misrepresented events.
Legal experts say the federal indictment for false statements is rare and could signal a broader effort to hold federal agents accountable. The outcome of this case may influence how future operations are conducted in cities like Minneapolis.
