MALEME, Greece (AP) — Vacationers taking a morning dip or seeking shade on wooden sunbeds on the Greek island of Crete got a close-up view of a major military exercise unfolding in front of them Friday.
The annual Medusa exercise, led by Greece and Egypt, ended on a strip of coastline outside the port city of Chania. It featured drone attacks and fast-boat landings with marines and special forces operators using simulated fire.
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Greek service members drive a military vehicle ashore from a landing craft during Medusa 15, a multinational military exercise led by Greece and Egypt, in Maleme on the Greek island of Crete, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Military helicopters fly over the Italian Navy frigate Luigi Rizzo during Medusa 15, a multinational military exercise led by Greece and Egypt, at Maleme on the Greek island of Crete, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Military service members from Egypt and Greece take part in the combined armed forces exercises Medusa 15, led by Greece and Egypt at Maleme, on the Greek island of Crete on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Tourists from nearby hotels watch Medusa 15, a multinational military exercise led by Greece and Egypt, at Maleme on the Greek island of Crete, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Tourists from nearby hotels watch a military helicopter fly overhead during Medusa 15, a multinational military exercise led by Greece and Egypt, at Maleme on the Greek island of Crete, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Louise Carr, from York in northern England, arrived for a holiday late Thursday and said she was surprised by the intensity of the drill.
“I just saw that it was some kind of military exercise, but I must admit I didn’t expect it to be the scale that it’s been. We were just like: wow,” Carr said. “I was very impressed, very. You’d pay thousands to watch this, wouldn’t you?” Greek military police set up a cordon during the hourlong drills Friday to keep bathers from getting too close as Greek and Egyptian service members ran through colored smoke and onto the beach, while jets and helicopters swooped overhead. France, Italy and Cyprus joined exercises that began Sept. 10 and ran through Friday as countries around the Mediterranean seek to expand their military cooperation.
Wars, economic shocks and questions over the U.S. role in the region have prompted many countries to seek stronger deterrence through a widening network of alliances.
Greece signed a 3 billion euro (about $3.5 billion) deal with Israel in August to build a new air defense system named Achilles Shield. Weeks earlier, Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed their own landmark defense agreement.
Egypt sent the helicopter carrier Gamal Abdel Nasser to the Greek exercise, which also was attended by observers from Serbia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Mozambique.
Michal Sitko, a vacationer from Poland, said he felt lucky to catch the spectacle.
“I didn’t expect that. It was kind of amazing that it happened in my vacation,” he said. “It’s just my first time in life, I think, I see something like that.”
Thanassis Stavrakis in Maleme, Greece, contributed to this report.
Greek service members drive a military vehicle ashore from a landing craft during Medusa 15, a multinational military exercise led by Greece and Egypt, in Maleme on the Greek island of Crete, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Military helicopters fly over the Italian Navy frigate Luigi Rizzo during Medusa 15, a multinational military exercise led by Greece and Egypt, at Maleme on the Greek island of Crete, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Military service members from Egypt and Greece take part in the combined armed forces exercises Medusa 15, led by Greece and Egypt at Maleme, on the Greek island of Crete on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Tourists from nearby hotels watch Medusa 15, a multinational military exercise led by Greece and Egypt, at Maleme on the Greek island of Crete, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Tourists from nearby hotels watch a military helicopter fly overhead during Medusa 15, a multinational military exercise led by Greece and Egypt, at Maleme on the Greek island of Crete, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An immigration officer pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges that he lied to the FBI about being attacked before he shot and wounded a Venezuelan man during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis early this year.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Christian Castro appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge after prosecutors indicted him this month on six federal counts of making false statements about the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.
Castro, in a black suit and with an electric monitor visible at his ankle, said very little during the hearing. He was suspended without pay by ICE earlier this year.
Castro’s federal hearing came a day after he appeared in state court on assault charges and was released from custody. His defense attorney, Daniel Gerdts, declined to comment on the case as he left the courthouse Friday.
The court proceedings followed months of legal battles over whether Castro, 52, would be extradited from Texas, his home state, to face charges in Minnesota. He ended up returning on his own after being freed from a Texas jail last month.
The case was quickly pulled into national politics. Minnesota is a frequent target of President Donald Trump, who regularly derides Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who ran as the vice presidential candidate in the last presidential election, as well as Rep. Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Trump ally, at times tied his refusal to sign Castro's extradition warrant to ongoing investigations of massive fraud in government social service programs in Minnesota. Trump used the fraud investigations to justify the crackdown.
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 lied to investigators when he told them 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 extradite him from Texas, where he had been arrested.
He eventually turned himself in to federal authorities when officials sounded alarms that he might flee across the U.S.-Mexico border after being released from a Texas jail. He was indicted separately in U.S. District Court earlier this month.
It’s the first Justice Department prosecution of a federal officer for actions during this year’s 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.
During an earlier hearing before a federal judge in Texas, Castro was released on a $75,000 bond and ordered to wear a GPS ankle monitor. He was also told to surrender his passport and any personal firearms.
Minnesota authorities have battled the Trump 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 Texas on May 29, after a Minnesota judge issued a nationwide warrant.
Minnesota sought his extradition during his Texas detainment but Abbott refused to sign an extradition warrant.
Associated Press journalist Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this story.
Christian Castro, right, an immigration officer who is accused of shooting a Venezuelan man during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis early this year and lying to investigators about what happened, leaves with his attorney Daniel Gerdts, left, after a hearing at the Warren E. Burger Federal Building, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Christian Castro, right, an immigration officer who is accused of shooting a Venezuelan man during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis early this year and lying to investigators about what happened, leaves with his attorney Daniel Gerdts, left, after a hearing at the Warren E. Burger Federal Building, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
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)
