A 52-year-old Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent charged in the shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant in Minnesota earlier this year was arrested Friday morning in Texas more than a week after prosecutors first issued his nationwide arrest warrant.
ICE agents depart the Bishop in Minneapolis on Feb. 4, 2026.
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Christian Castro, accused of shooting Julio Sosa-Celis and then lying about what happened, was taken into custody by Texas Rangers and agents with the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General.
Castro is facing four counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime after witnesses say he fired shots through the front door of a home knowing people were inside.
He then allegedly lied to his supervisors and said he’d been attacked with a shovel and brooms, only firing his weapon in self defense after he’d been beaten to the ground.
His story unraveled, however, when the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension obtained city security footage of the incident that showed Castro was standing when he fired the shots.
Officials later said there was “no demonstrable trauma to his body” and the only medical treatment he received was for an abrasion on his hand.
"He was not hit at all," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said last week.
If Castro surrenders. If he does not go back to Minnesota willingly, it will be Texas Gov. Greg Abbott who gets to decide if he's extradited from the state. Abbott hasn't spoken publicly about Castro's case, but has repeatedly said he's in support of ICE raids and federal deportation operations.
Agents were led to Sosa-Celis in January during Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, a three-month immigration enforcement effort that ultimately saw nearly 4,000 people arrested and two American citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, killed. ICE agents were chasing another Venezuelan man, Alfredo Aljorna, who crashed his car into a showbank during the pursuit and then ran toward his home. Sosa-Celis was standing outside the home with a snow shovel at the time and, after a brief physical tangle between Sosa-Celis, Aljorna and an ICE agent, the two men retreated toward the house, video now shows. Castro then fired his weapon, hitting Sosa-Celis in the leg. Sosa-Celis and Aljorna, who were both in the country illegally, were charged with felonies that were later dropped as federal officials said they were investigating the agents involved. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin initially said Sosa-Celis and Aljorna “began to resist and violently assault the officer” but video evidence later contradicted that story. When Minnesota officials first announced the charges against Castro on May 18, the Department of Homeland Security referred to it as an illegal “political stunt” but has since said the U.S. Attorney’s Office is investigating Castro and other agents, and they may face disciplinary action “including termination of employment, as well as potential criminal prosecution.” The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office issued its arrest warrant for Castro last week and Minnesota law enforcement agents and tracked him to Texas Friday.
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