A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of making false statements to federal investigators. Christian Castro is accused of lying about the events leading up to the shooting of a Venezuelan man in Minnesota.
The incident occurred in January during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis known as Operation Metro Surge. During the deportation surge, Castro shot Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg. Sosa-Celis was one of three people shot by federal immigration agents during the operation.
Castro had been previously charged in state court. The current federal charges stem from accusations that he tried to cover up the shooting. This is the first known instance of the Justice Department seeking to prosecute a federal immigration officer for actions taken during the operation, representing a rare moment of accountability.