ICE officer to appear in federal court for alleged false statement in nonfatal Minneapolis shooting

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An immigration officer who is accused of shooting a Venezuelan man during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis early this year, and then lying to investigators about what happened, is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court on Friday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Christian Castro faces a federal count of making false statements about the January shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Castro's federal hearing comes a day after he appeared in state court on assault charges and was released from custody.

The court proceedings are getting underway after months of legal and political battles over whether Castro, 52, would be extradited from Texas to face state charges. Castro’s attorney, Daniel Gerdts, declined to comment after Thursday’s hearing.

In both the federal and state cases against Castro, prosecutors say he shot 24-year-old Sosa-Celis in the leg while firing through the front door of a Minneapolis home. They say Castro later falsely reported that he had been attacked with a broom handle and a snow shovel before firing his gun.

Minnesota prosecutors charged him in May but were thwarted in their efforts to bring him from his home state of Texas, where he had been arrested.

In the end, Castro came to Minnesota on his own to face federal charges in an indictment announced early this month.

Friday's hearing, in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, involves the separate federal case in which he is charged with making false statements to investigators regarding the shooting. Castro’s defense attorneys in that case have said he plans to plead not guilty.

It’s the first Justice Department prosecution of a federal officer for actions taken during this year’s massive Operation Metro Surge, which brought thousands of agents to the Twin Cities and led to sweeping protests, arrests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal officers.

Minnesota authorities have battled President Donald Trump's administration over who should handle any charges against Castro. The Department of Homeland Security has called Minnesota’s prosecution of Castro “unlawful and nothing more than a political stunt,” saying only federal authorities have jurisdiction.

Authorities, including Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, arrested Castro in Cameron County, Texas, on May 29, after a Minnesota judge issued a nationwide warrant. Under Texas law, Castro could be detained for 90 days, during which Minnesota sought his extradition. But Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott last month refused to sign an extradition warrant.

Castro was then released in Texas and soon after was indicted on the federal charges. He then turned himself in to federal authorities and returned to Minnesota on his own.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison leaves after a news conference, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo was included in Portugal’s squad by new coach Jorge Jesus for its upcoming Nations League games on Friday.

The 41-year-old Ronaldo said that this summer’s World Cup was his last, but the global star has yet to say when he plans to retire from international play. He will be 43 by the time the 2028 European Championship, the next major tournament, is held.

This was the first squad named by Jesus, who was hired to replace Spaniard Roberto Martinez after Portugal lost 1-0 to Spain in the round of 16 of the World Cup. Jesus' previous coaching job was with Ronaldo's club Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where they won the league together last season.

Regarding Ronaldo's role, Jesus said "all the called-up players are at my disposal.”

“If he performs well, he plays. If he doesn’t perform well, he doesn’t play. That’s how I treat everyone,” Jesus said, before adding a caveat.

“Now, does Cris have a different status? Yes. His career is different," he said. "He has five Ballon d’Or awards. But does that influence my decisions? No. It doesn’t influence anything, zero, but he is different from the others."

The 72-year-old Jesus has also coached several Portuguese clubs, including Benfica and Sporting Lisbon.

Ronaldo is the leading scorer for men’s international soccer with 146 goals. His greatest achievement with Portugal was helping it win the 2016 Euros.

He is now chasing 1,000 career goals. He currently has 979. When asked if he imagined Ronaldo hitting that milestone, Jesus said he doubted it would be with Portugal.

“I think he's more likely to score his thousandth goal for Al-Nassr than for the Portuguese national team,” Jesus said.

Portugal will open the Nations League by hosting Wales on Sept. 24. It plays Norway away three days later and then in Denmark on Oct. 1, before hosting Norway on Oct. 4.

Portugal squad:

Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), Rui Silva (Sporting), Samuel Soares (Benfica)

Defenders: Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting), João Cancelo (Barcelona), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Nuno Tavares (Lazio), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain), Renato Veiga (Villarreal), Rúben Dias (Manchester City), Tomás Araújo (Benfica)

Midfielders: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), João Palhinha (Benfica), João Neves (Paris Saint-Germain), Rúben Neves (Al Hilal), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain), Bernardo Silva (Real Madrid)

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr), Fábio Silva (Borussia Dortmund), Francisco Trincão (Al Ahli), Francisco Conceição (Juventus), Gonçalo Ramos (AC Milan), João Félix (Al Nassr), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Rafael Leão (Galatasaray)

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

FILE - Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo leaves the pitch after the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Portugal and Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, file)