MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — A federal immigration agent accused of shooting a Venezuelan man during a federal crackdown in Minnesota has been taken into custody in Texas, officials announced Friday.
Christian Castro, an officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was apprehended on Friday. His arrest comes 11 days after prosecutors in Minneapolis filed charges against him for assault and filing a false police report regarding the nonfatal shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis on January 14.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension tracked the 52-year-old suspect to Texas. State investigators then coordinated with the Texas Rangers and federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General to execute the arrest.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty stated that the arrest marks a crucial advancement in the prosecution of Castro. Legal representation for Castro is not yet indicated in online court registries, and immediate responses to inquiries were not provided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Texas Rangers, or the Homeland Security watchdog.
The encounter took place during a federal deportation campaign known as Operation Metro Surge. According to prosecutors, Castro and a fellow officer pursued an individual named Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna to a Minneapolis duplex apartment where Aljorna and Sosa-Celis lived. Castro allegedly discharged his firearm through the front door of the residence, striking Sosa-Celis in the thigh. Moriarty noted that both Sosa-Celis and Aljorna were present in the United States legally.
The incident is part of a broader investigation into officer conduct during the federal operation. Castro is the second federal operative facing charges tied to the enforcement surge. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons previously noted that Castro is one of two agents accused of falsifying accounts of the confrontation.
Initially, federal authorities alleged that Sosa-Celis and Aljorna assaulted an officer using a snow shovel and a broom handle. Those initial charges were later thrown out by a federal judge, prompting internal investigations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Justice into the truthfulness of the officers’ reports.
Following the filing of local charges, Immigration and Customs Enforcement labeled the Hennepin County prosecution an unlawful political maneuver, while noting that federal prosecutors are examining the officers’ accounts for potential administrative dismissal or federal prosecution. The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General operates independently from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to investigate misconduct within department branches.
City security footage released by Minneapolis last month documents the sequence of events preceding the gunfire. The video captures an individual outside the home holding a snow shovel before discarding it and retreating toward the property. Simultaneously, another person fleeing a pursuer falls on the sidewalk before continuing toward the house. The individuals engage in a brief struggle near the front entrance steps, though the precise timing of the shooting is not visible in the footage.
The arrests and investigations follow heightened local friction surrounding Operation Metro Surge, which brought thousands of federal officers to the Minneapolis and St. Paul region. While the federal administration deemed the initiative successful, the fatal shootings of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal personnel triggered widespread public demonstrations and intense scrutiny of agent actions.
A jurisdictional dispute remains active between Minnesota officials and the federal government regarding the authority to probe and prosecute federal agents for actions taken while on duty.
In a separate case tied to the same operation, Moriarty’s office filed assault charges last month against immigration agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. for allegedly targeting individuals in a vehicle with a firearm on a highway. Morgan surrendered to authorities last week, and his defense attorney is contesting the allegations.
Hennepin County authorities are continuing to investigate the fatal shootings of Good and Pretti. The county filed a lawsuit against the federal administration in March to compel the release of evidentiary records connected to those deaths as well as the shooting of Sosa-Celis.
Comments