Suspected Trinitarios Gang Member Shot by ICE Agents in Bronx

Federal officials have identified the suspect shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the Bronx as Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican Republic native believed to be affiliated with the Trinitarios gang. The incident occurred in the Marble Hill neighborhood on Thursday.

According to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations head Marcos Charles, agents were attempting to arrest Belgal due to his alleged ties to the Trinitarios. They stated that Belgal accelerated his vehicle and used it as a weapon against the officers, prompting one agent to fire in self-defense.

The Trinitarios gang, which originated in the early 1990s among Dominican inmates at Rikers Island, has been linked to numerous violent crimes in New York City. The gang's activities include the 2018 murder of 15-year-old Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, the July killing of 12-year-old Jacob Freytes, and the shooting of a federal border patrol agent last summer.

Lesandro Guzman-Feliz’s mother, Leandra Guzman, expressed relief that authorities are apprehending violent offenders. "They can’t be killing innocent people in the streets and nobody is doing nothing… somebody has to do something," she told The Post. "If they clean up the city, taking the criminals out of here, they are doing their job."

Five gang members were convicted in the broad-daylight attack on Guzman-Feliz, who was fatally stabbed outside a bodega in Belmont. Authorities stated the attack was a case of mistaken identity.

Migdalia Martinez, mother of Jacob Freytes, criticized calls to abolish ICE, stating, "I don’t think they should be abolished." She added, "I just had my 12-year-old son die at the hands of someone who was a gang member," and expressed a desire for ICE to continue apprehending violent criminals.

Jacob Freytes was killed in crossfire during a gang-related street fight in Mount Eden while riding his bike. The Trinitarios gang was suspected of involvement in the incident.

Secretary Mullin indicated that Belgal was a target because he had knowledge of a Trinitarios-related shooting that severely wounded an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer last summer. "That’s why he became a target," Mullin said, noting that Belgal had previously fled from ICE agents attempting to apprehend him.

Last summer, Trinitarios members Miguel Francisco Mora-Nunez, 22, and Christhian Aybar-Berroa, 23, were sentenced to over a decade in prison for shooting the CBP officer, Joshua Sinclair, during a robbery attempt in Fort Washington Park on July 20, 2025. Sinclair, despite being shot in the face, returned fire.

Belgal's name reportedly appeared on a cell phone belonging to one of Sinclair's attackers. This incident was part of a larger ICE operation that led to the arrest of 54 alleged Trinitarios members last summer.

Belgal has prior arrests in New York City, including one for robbery in 2023 for which he received five years of probation after pleading guilty to grand larceny, and another for criminal sale of a controlled substance in 2025, which is still pending.

Earlier this year, nearly a dozen Trinitarios members were indicted for five murders, including that of a New York influencer. In November, several members, including a minor, were arrested for a series of armed robberies that yielded $100,000 in stolen jewelry.