Meet Christian Castro, the ICE agent arrested in Texas for shooting a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis and lying about it
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is still reeling from the blunder in Minneapolis, where ICE agent Christian Castro was arrested for the Jan. 14 shooting death of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. The 52-year-old ICE agent is the second federal agent to be charged for his actions during the Minnesota crackdown known as Operation Metro Surge, the first being Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr.
What happened on the night of January 14th? What did ICE agents do?
Court documents show that on the night of the shooting, Castro got into a brief scuffle with Alfredo Aljorna, a Venezuelan immigrant whom Castro was trying to arrest after a car chase. After Arjona broke free and burst into the Minneapolis home, Castro fired a shot through the front door, wounding Julio C. Sosa-Sellis, Arjona’s roommate, in the leg. This was a non-fatal injury. They are all Venezuelan and living in the United States legally.As protests erupted over the shooting, Castro misled investigators, telling them he fired in self-defense and three men beat him with shovels and brooms for several minutes.Aljorna and Sosa-Celis were also charged.But later surveillance video showed that Castro’s statement was untrue. Charges against two Venezuelan men dropped.As Castro went on leave in February, ICE interim director Todd Lyons said he was under investigation for allegedly lying under oath.But ICE officials do not support the state’s charges and arrest of Castro, which they view as nothing more than a political stunt. The agency added in a statement Friday that “this is a federal issue and must be dealt with at the federal level.”If Castro waives his right to an extradition hearing in Texas, he could be transferred to Minnesota for a speedy arraignment. If he opposes extradition, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (a Democrat) would need to make a formal extradition request to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (a Republican).
