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AP Source: ICE officer charged with lying to investigators in the shooting of Venezuelan man
apnews.com • • general
Key Points:
- ICE officer Christian Castro has been federally charged with making false statements about the shooting of Venezuelan Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during the Minneapolis immigration crackdown in January 2026.
- The charges follow Castro's release from jail in Texas after Governor Greg Abbott delayed extradition to Minnesota, where Castro faces separate state assault and false reporting charges related to the shooting.
- Initial federal accusations against Sosa-Celis and another man for assaulting officers were dropped after video evidence suggested officers may have lied, prompting a federal investigation into the incident.
- Castro is the first federal immigration officer prosecuted under the Trump administration's Operation Metro Surge, a large-scale immigration enforcement effort in the Twin Cities that faced criticism after two citizens were fatally shot by officers.
- A federal prosecutor pushing for civil rights charges against Castro was fired and is under investigation, while the civil rights probe into the shooting continues with no final decision on additional charges.
