ICE agent indicted for lying about shooting of Venezuelan man in Minnesota
US immigration agent Christian Castro faces a federal indictment for allegedly lying about a January shooting that wounded a Venezuelan migrant in Minnesota. He has not yet been taken into custody.
A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, Christian Castro, has been indicted on six federal counts for allegedly lying about a shooting that wounded a Venezuelan migrant in Minnesota on 14 January. Castro has not yet been taken into custody.
The Department of Homeland Security initially said the agent fired in self-defence after being attacked by three undocumented Venezuelan migrants wielding a shovel and a broom handle. However, Minnesota investigators allege Castro actually fired through a closed door, striking the man in the leg.
Such a charge against a federal agent for on-the-job wrongdoing is unusual under the current Justice Department. In Minnesota, Castro also faces separate state charges of assault and false reporting of a crime.
Castro was among thousands of federal immigration officers deployed to Minnesota as part of Operation Metro Surge, which triggered widespread protests and included confrontations in which two US citizens died at the hands of agents.
Following the shooting, two migrants — Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was shot in the leg and survived — were initially charged with assaulting or resisting federal officers. After surveillance footage cast doubt on the official account, federal prosecutors opened an investigation into the agents involved.
In February, ICE said two immigration agents may have made "untruthful statements" about the incident and placed them on administrative leave. Charges against the migrants were later dropped, with prosecutors citing "newly discovered evidence."
Castro was arrested in Texas in May and held in custody for three months. Minnesota's top prosecutor requested his extradition to face trial, but Texas Governor Greg Abbott declined, citing "serious doubts" about whether Castro qualified as a fugitive. Castro was released from custody in Texas last week.
Minnesota officials say the agent fired through the front door of a home knowing people had just run inside. The bullet passed through the door, struck one victim in the leg, and ultimately lodged in the wall of a child's bedroom.
