He married María Nieves Briceño, natural daughter of José Laurencio Silva, a hero of the Venezuelan War of Independence, and had four sons: Julián, Inocente, Ramón and Francisco de Paula.

In 1849 he was commissioned to fight against José Antonio Páez, who led an insurrection against Monagas, and gained some reputation for courage.

His presidency was troubled, with scandals (the Urrutia Protocol affair, among others), coup attempts, and the beginning of the Federal War (February 1859), led by Ezequiel Zamora and Juan Crisóstomo Falcón.

Castro returned to Venezuela in 1870, just before the April Revolution led by Antonio Guzmán He joined it and remained in the Venezuelan Army until his death.

Julián Castro was married to María Nieves Briceño[citation needed] who served as First Lady of Venezuela from 1858 to 1859.