US charges ICE agent accused of lying about shooting Venezuelan migrant

US authorities have charged an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent accused of shooting a Venezuelan migrant in Minnesota and then lying to investigators about what happened.

A federal grand jury indicted Christian Castro on six counts, including allegedly making false statements. The indictment remains sealed and is expected to become public once authorities arrest Castro, who is currently being sought by federal officials.

Castro already faces state charges in Minnesota over the Jan. 14 operation. Prosecutors there accuse him of shooting 24-year-old Julio Sosa Celis in the leg and filing a false report that blamed Sosa and another migrant for attacking him with a shovel and a broomstick.

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independent

The case followed a legal dispute between Texas and Minnesota. Castro spent nearly three months in custody in Texas before being released late last week. Minnesota authorities had sought his transfer to face state proceedings, but Texas officials complicated the extradition process.

Sosa was one of three people shot by immigration agents during the Metro Surge operation, in which the Trump administration deployed hundreds of agents in Minneapolis. The operation triggered strong clashes with civilians. The other two victims, US citizens Renée Good and Alex Pretti, died from their wounds. The Trace has recorded at least 30 incidents involving immigration agents shooting civilians since January 2025, leaving eight people dead. UN human rights chief Volker Türk called in June for an independent investigation into deaths linked to immigration operations and criticized the authorities' lack of transparency.

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lack of transparency