A democratic socialist congressional candidate in New York City said it “doesn’t even matter” that Oscar Belgal has a violent criminal history after ICE agents wounded the illegal immigrant during an operation in the Bronx. Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Democratic candidate for the 13th Congressional District, also accused [1] NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch of villainizing him.
Chevalier made the comments during an appearance with lefty streamer Hasan Piker, saying she was furious to hear Belgal’s reported criminal past discussed after the shooting. She portrayed his attempt to flee federal agents with his son in the vehicle as an act of parental protection.
“I was just so angry,” Chevalier said while discussing how Belgal’s reported history as a reputed member of the Trinitarios street gang was being used against him. “To me, it doesn’t even matter,” she told Piker, who agreed.
Chevalier then turned her fire toward Tisch, criticizing the police commissioner for discussing information about Belgal rather than focusing her condemnation on ICE and the federal operation.
“Police Commissioner [Jessica] Tisch came out, and I understand it’s her role to provide more information,” she said. “But rather than condemn ICE, rather than condemn the shooting or the events that are taking place, she started to villainize Oscar.”
Chevalier also asked viewers to imagine Belgal’s perspective as agents approached his vehicle while his child was sitting in the back seat. She argued that his decision to run was about protecting his son.
“Put yourself in Oscar’s shoes,” she added. “You have your child in the back seat, you’re picking him up from school, and all of a sudden you see masked men coming towards your car, banging on it, pull out guns. You’re running. I’m sorry, you’re protecting your child,” she said.
Chevalier demanded that Belgal be freed from federal custody. “He needs to be released,” she said, echoing Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who suggested Belgal was a regular “New Yorker.”
When Piker asked for her parting words, Chevalier delivered an unmistakable demand aimed at the federal immigration agency. “F**k ICE and abolish it.”
DSA’s Darializa Avila Chevalier Says Convicted Felon’s Criminal History “Doesn’t Even Matter,” Accuses Jessica Tisch of “Villainizing” Him, and Demands Her Resignation
This is a fascinating glimpse into DSA-style co-governance in action, revealing both the growing tensions over the Mamdani administration and the movement’s commitment to abolitionism.
Speaking with Hasan Piker today about the ICE shooting of Oscar Belgal, a Dominican national with a prior felony conviction and pending charges for allegedly selling fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine to an undercover detective, Darializa Avila Chevalier was unable to explain his criminal history when Hasan asked about it.
Instead, she acknowledged reviewing NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch’s remarks against “our statement,” which her team had prepared, before declaring, “To me it doesn’t even matter.”
It was Hasan who later supplied the details, citing the New York Times on Belgal’s drug offenses and robbery.
Avila Chevalier nevertheless accused Tisch of attempting to “villainize” Belgal, demanded her resignation, called for his release from federal custody, and advocated abolishing ICE and stripping its funding.
Notably, Avila Chevalier had also taken to the streets to protest the shooting that same evening, confronting federal agents investigating the scene and later participating in demonstrations outside the hospital.
She went so far as to portray Belgal’s flight from federal agents, with his five-year-old child in the back seat, as an entirely understandable act of parental protection, suggesting that any parent would have done the same.
The interview concluded with her telling Hasan’s audience to “Fuck ICE and abolish it.”
— Stu Smith (@thestustustudio) October 10, 2026 [2]
Belgal, 28, is a reputed member of the Trinitarios street gang. He had picked up his son in the Marble Hill neighborhood shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday when plainclothes ICE agents surrounded his SUV.
Agents fired into the vehicle when Belgal tried to pull away, according to the account of the encounter. Belgal was wounded in the neck during the operation.
Authorities said Belgal entered the United States illegally in 2022. His record includes a 2023 armed robbery conviction and a 2025 arrest for allegedly selling fentanyl, cocaine and heroin.
Tenants at Belgal’s previous apartment building in Washington Heights also told The Post that he had terrorized neighbors with a machete. One local described him as “a menace to society.”
The shooting rattled the Bronx neighborhood and triggered massive protests in the borough. Demonstrators called for federal immigration agents to leave New York City following the operation.
Tisch and Mamdani, who is a DSA member, both denounced the federal operation. They also said the NYPD was not involved in the ICE raid and had not been notified about it in advance.
Chevalier, however, went further by insisting Belgal should be released from the federal lockup in Brooklyn. She also repeated her earlier demand that Tisch step down, even as the police commissioner faced her criticism for revealing more information about Belgal.
Stu Smith, an investigative analyst with the Manhattan Institute, disputed Chevalier’s stance and pointed to broader tensions involving the city’s socialist movement. “This is a fascinating glimpse into DSA-style co-governance in action, revealing both the growing tensions over the [Mayor Zohran] Mamdani administration and the movement’s commitment to abolitionism,” he wrote on X.