Two agents suspended for allegedly lying after shooting a Venezuelan

Los Angeles.- Two immigration agents were suspended amid an investigation for apparently making false statements about an incident in Minneapolis, described as a violent attack, in which a Venezuelan was shot in the leg last month. The acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Service, Todd Lyons, reported in a statement the administrative leave for the two agents pending the completion of "a thorough investigation" into the incident that occurred on January 14. ICE agents charged Venezuelans Julio César Sosa-Celis, 24, and Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna, 26, for allegedly assaulting an agent during a chaotic detention in Minneapolis amid the aggressive operation that took place in that city.

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One of the suspended agents shot Sosa-Celis because he allegedly attacked him with a shovel or a broom handle, causing injuries that forced him to seek hospital attention, according to the initial account of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Federal authorities described the incident as an "attempted murder of a federal agent," stating that the agent was "ambushed and beaten," before firing a defensive shot that hit Sosa-Celis in the leg.

Dismissal of Charges Due to New Evidence

The two Venezuelans were charged with federal charges, but this Thursday the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) withdrew the charges under the argument of new evidence. Lyons indicated that the investigation of the video evidence revealed that the two agents "appear to have made false statements" in the sworn testimony about what happened, a crime punishable by law. Both ICE and DHS have been under public scrutiny for the violence of immigration operatives in Minneapolis that resulted in the death of two Americans, Renée Good and Alex Pretti. This week, border czar Tom Homan announced that the immigration raids had ended and that the agents sent to that city would leave. The DHS and its agencies, including ICE, are on the verge of running out of funding, after the Democratic minority has demanded that operations be regulated and agents who have abused their power be held accountable.

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Critics have also called for the resignation of Secretary Kristi Noem, who used the incident to publicize the danger faced by agents in immigration operations.

Noem was questioned this Friday by a group of journalists at a conference in Phoenix (Arizona) about whether she would remain at the head of the department: “If I am still in charge of the DHS”, she replied.