By Twincitieslocalnews staff
Published: June 4,2026 2:43pm

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who was arrested in Texas last week remains in jail on $200,000 bond as he awaits extradition to Minnesota.
Christian Castro, 52, is charged with four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime in connection with a shooting that wounded Julio Sosa-Celis in north Minneapolis.
Castro was arrested on Friday in Harlingen, Texas, and was initially denied bond. At an extradition hearing on Thursday, Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz said his office received information that Hennepin County District Court had set his bond at $200,000.
If Castro doesn’t post bond, he could be extradited to Minnesota and jailed there while his case proceeds.
Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan national, was shot in the leg the night of Jan. 14 after he fled from a traffic stop by federal immigration agents and retreated to his home in north Minneapolis.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security initially justified the shooting of Sosa-Celis as a defensive use of force, claiming the ICE agent who was chasing after him had been beaten by three people with a shovel and broom handles for three minutes.
Video of the incident contradicted those claims, showing Sosa-Celis fall while running to the front door of his house before the ICE agent catches up and briefly struggles with him on the ground. A second man is seen dropping a snow shovel and going inside the house.
The U.S. Department of Justice later dropped charges against Sosa-Celis and a second man charged in the incident, citing “newly discovered evidence” that clashed with Castro’s version of events.
Castro and another agent involved in the incident were placed on leave while Homeland Security investigated whether they lied under oath.
Witnesses said Castro shot at Sosa-Celis through the front door. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the four felony assault charges against Castro correspond with four adult victims who were inside the home.
A Homeland Security spokesperson simultaneously acknowledged that lying under oath is a serious federal offense but dismissed the charges against Castro as unlawful and nothing more than a political stunt.