ICE Officer Who Shot Venezuelan Man in Minneapolis Charged With Lying to Investigators

ICE officer Christian Castro has been indicted for allegedly lying to federal investigators about the shooting of Venezuelan man Julio Sosa-Celis during the Minneapolis immigration crackdown. Castro is accused of shooting Sosa-Celis in the leg in January and now faces a federal charge of making false statements.

The indictment adds to separate state charges accusing Castro of assault and falsely reporting a crime related to the same incident. He was released from jail last week after Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott declined to immediately sign an extradition warrant that would have sent him to Minnesota authorities.

The case has become tied to wider questions about the conduct of federal agents deployed under the Trump administration’s “Operation Metro Surge.” Launched in the Twin Cities in early December 2025, the operation sent thousands of immigration officers to bus stops, grocery stores and churches. The deployment triggered continuing protests and clashes between demonstrators and enforcement officers.

“

Mr. Castro has been indicted for making false statements. But he made them to cover up the fact that he shot my client through the door of an occupied house without a self-defense justification. Although the evidence strongly supports civil rights charges, the federal government has grossly undercharged this case. Mr. Sosa Celis wants Mr. Castro to be held fully accountable for his crimes.

Sosa-Celis was one of three people shot by federal immigration agents during the operation. Two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed. Minnesota prosecutors said in July that they had obtained new evidence in those cases and in the shooting of Sosa-Celis.

Robin Wolpert, Sosa-Celis’s attorney, said, “Mr. Castro has been indicted for making false statements. But he made them to cover up the fact that he shot my client through the door of an occupied house without a self-defense justification. Although the evidence strongly supports civil rights charges, the federal government has grossly undercharged this case. Mr. Sosa Celis wants Mr. Castro to be held fully accountable for his crimes.” Federal authorities initially accused Sosa-Celis of attacking agents with a shovel and broom, and then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called it “an attempted murder of federal law enforcement.” Prosecutors later dropped the assault charge after citing evidence “materially inconsistent” with preliminary hearing testimony. Minneapolis-released video showed Sosa-Celis dropping the shovel and both men running inside as an agent fired toward them.

“

an attempted murder of federal law enforcement