An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has been arrested in Texas following Minnesota assault charges tied to the shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant during a January encounter while on duty.
Authorities confirmed that 52-year-old ICE agent Christian Castro was taken into custody Friday, more than a week after he was formally charged in connection with the case. Prosecutors allege the shooting occurred after a traffic stop involving Venezuelan immigrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was struck in the leg.
Castro faces four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime. Officials say that after the shooting, Castro claimed under oath that he had been attacked by Sosa-Celis, a claim that investigators say was contradicted by witness accounts.
Federal officials initially supported Castro’s version of events, but later acknowledged inconsistencies. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson later said the agent and another officer involved appeared to have made “untruthful statements” about what happened.
Prosecutors issued a nationwide warrant for Castro’s arrest, leading to his detention in Texas. Investigators from Minnesota traveled to assist in the arrest, working alongside federal inspectors and Texas Rangers.
Officials said Castro had been operating in Minneapolis as part of a federal immigration enforcement initiative at the time of the incident.
He is the second ICE agent charged by Minnesota prosecutors in connection with alleged misconduct during the same enforcement operation. In a separate case, another agent was previously accused of pointing a firearm at motorists during an unrelated encounter.
The case against Castro is expected to potentially move into federal court, where legal arguments could involve constitutional protections for federal law enforcement officers acting in their official duties.
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