(DMZ #30, 31) - Liberty News rejected Matty's coverage; he threw a fit, and his girlfriend Zee told him it was because his piece was more or less an op-ed supporting Delgado. Matty complained to Delgado during a celebratory block party, and he welcomed him to cover the Delgado Nation, but wanted him to be a member, and not a puppet of Liberty. Matty said he had journalistic ethics to consider, and Delgado said ethics and impartiality went out the window while the DMZ was still in danger of being bombed. Delgado said he was impressed by how Matty always stuck up for the people in the DMZ, and believed in him even if others didn't. Matty worried he was talking about Zee, but Delgado told him to calm down. Liberty, trying to discredit Delgado, claimed that Matty had sent them evidence that Delgado had insurgent ties, and fired Roth. The Delgado Nation were ready to turn on Matty, who pleaded his innocence, when he got a call from his dad, which Delgado had him put on speaker. Matty's father urged him to get back on Liberty's good side, and called Delgado a hood. His father refused to answer when Matty asked him if he was just being racist. Matty hung up on him, telling Delgado he stood with him, and then he got a call from his mother. The Nation had actually reached out with her to meet Matty in the DMZ and reconnect with him. Delgado went on a nonstop speaking tour, decrying Trustwell as a heartless corporation, and the FSA as rednecks with a racist agenda. He continued to gain support, and Matty was interviewed by a station bashing Delgado and saying that the US envoy was the official representative of Manhattan. Matty fired back that the US couldn't agree to an election and then back out, and that there was no information on the envoy, not even their name, and they hadn't been in the DMZ as far as he knew. The reporter questioned if Delgado was using him, and why his mother was there, and Matty ended the interview. A sniper shot Parco, causing chaos.

(DMZ #32, 33) - Matty and the Nation rushed Delgado to safety, taking him to a secure house where a doctor attended him. Candlelight prayer services went up around the DMz, and Matty's mother said she hoped Delgado recovered, but having become a sympathetic candidate his election was a slam dunk. The US asked for a meeting with the Nation, and offered to withdraw their envoy if Delgado signed on as the US candidate. The talks were interrupted by the FSA leader, who told Matty not to take the deal, and said he could hand him the shooter. The FSA held up their end, saying all they wanted was Parco to win. Matty's mother campaigned for Parco as he convalesced, saying he was a viable candidate. Polling opened and Trustwell prepared to disrupt the election.

(DMZ #34) - Delgado was recovered enough to talk to his constituents, and he and Matty drove to a voting day rally. Mastro told Delgado he had the election won, and she didn't want him to be seen in his weakened state, but Matty said the people deserved a politician who spoke to them, and Delgado agreed. Delgado addressed the crowd, telling them he was proud that everyone voted even though Trustwell harassed voters and violence flared up at the polling stations. He knew the voice of the people finally had to be recognized, and said they should turn aside from revenge and focus on making Manhattan a safe place to live and not a warzone. Delgado won by a landslide, and there was little chance of a forced recount. Delgado said he needed Matty out of the public eye for a bit, but said he'd been contacted by the FSA, who said they could help him with Trustwell. He told Matty he needed his help running the DMZ, and Matty eagerly agreed to work with him.

(DMZ #37, 38, 39 (BTS), 40) - Delgado made an incendiary speech, saying he rejected the word interim, calling it the language of the oppressor, and saying his government was here to stay. He gave the US and FSA armies ten days to vacate the DMZ, and he gave Trustwell 10 hours. He set up checkpoints across the DMZ, and required IDs for residents. When Matty went to City Hall he was relegated to running mail for Delgado. He saw a riot, and learned that many citizens were already dissatisfied with Delgado. He was ready to quit, but Delgado met with him personally. He was still with Madeline, and said he appreciated how Matty spread the word in the DMZ, but he needed her connections to reach the entire nation. He told Matty that the rumors of Chinatown having a hoard of gold were true, and asked him to talk to Wilson, Matty's friend and the boss of Chinatown, saying he needed funding for legitimacy. He said Matty was still on the pulse of the people in the DMZ, and that was enough for him to find Wilson for a meeting. Wilson said most people were smart enough to not ask about the Chinatown gold, and he was willing to deal with Matty, but not Parco. He had gold stashed around the city, but knowing where that gold was put people in danger. Armed men broke into Wilson's restaurant, and Wilson's men quickly disarmed them. Wilson assumed they were Parco's Plan B and said that's exactly why he wouldn't deal with him. He also wasn't interested in a gang war, and allowed Matty and the men to take hundreds of gold bricks back with them. Matty asked if that wouldn't hurt Chinatown's finances, and he replied that Matty had no idea how much gold he had, but he'd better tell Parco that was the last of it. Matty and Parco's men came under fire on the way back to Parco's green zone, but were extracted by the FSA, who were now acting as Parco's soldiers. After Parco received the gold he told Matty he needed him for one more errand, and Matty realized everyone except him seemed to have a better handle on Parco's plans for the DMZ. Parco had forged a connection with the paramilitary Ghosts of Central Park, and had Matty deliver them a bag of gold in exchange for a nuclear device. Soames said he wasn't comfortable having the device, which he hinted was stolen from the US military, around, and Parco had given the Ghosts a 30 year lease on Central Park and its' surroundings. Soames praised Parco for obtaining a deterrent against the wolves at his gate. He told Matty to have a good long think about what he wanted out of his relationship with Parco. Matty drove the bomb to Times Square, turned off hhis phone, and waited for Parco to show up. Parco could tell he was angry, and asked him what he wanted. Matty said he wanted Parco to fire his mom, and let him replace her as press secretary, with full security and diplomatic clearance. Parco said he'd make things right, and Matty decided he finally got what he deserved.

(DMZ #45, 46) - Matty gave a 30 second press conference announcing that the DMZ was a nuclear power, and would defend their independence if need be, saying they would allow no inspections, but giving the serial number of the bomb. Parco met with Matty at MSG, and Matty said he was grandstanding, but Parco said every New Yorker dreamed of being on the courts. They agreed that Matty would deal with winning the hearts of the DMZ while Parco would negotiate with foreign powers. Matty said he needed to keep the local warlords from challenging his power, because if any of the insurgent groups got their hands on the nuclear device it would be all the excuse the world would need to turn against them. Parco told Matty to bring as many of the local tribes into the fold as he could, and gave him $500K of bribe money. Parco also said he wanted a NY news outlet of their own, since Liberty was no fan of his administration Parco followed the news reports of US drones flying over the DMZ, presumably to pinpoint the location of the nuke, and he heard the first broadcast of Radio Free DMZ.

(DMZ #47, 48 (BTS), 49) - Mr. Roth held a press conference; the US demanded that Delgado hand over the nuclear device, and himself so he could go on trial. The military would retake political control of the DMZ, and these demands were non-negotiable. Matty's father disowned him, saying he'd chosen a path of violence and the life of a thug. Delgado met with Matty, and said he had to know if Matty would have his back when trouble started. Matty assured him of his loyalty, and soon after Delgado went into hiding, and the US entered the DMZ with airpower in response. The military conducted block by block searches, with violence erupting sporadically. Delgado called Matty and told him to deal with the situation. Matty drove out into the city, but soldiers killed his driver, and gave him a severe beating, so he called his security detail, and told them to start killing every soldier they saw. Angel misheard the order, and his men fired at the first people they saw, a civilian wedding party. Matty was horrified, and went home, calling Delgado, then Wilson and his parents, but found himself a pariah. The US located the nuclear device at Indian Point, and dropped a bomb, detonating it.

(DMZ #63, 65) - Parco went into hiding, and only the FSA Commander knew his location. The US invaded the DMZ to retake the city, bombing and destroying great swathes of the city. The Commander was arrested, and asked to talk to Matty. He revealed that Parco had been hiding in the DMZ the whole time, and had evidence that his bomb never went off, the nuclear fallout from Indian Point was from the US airstrike. He told Matty Parco's location, and Matty left him, knowing he'd probably soon be dead. . He found Parco's safehouse, and Parco was thrilled to see him, but he was furious that Parco had been working with the FSA since the beginning, and he'd squandered the chance he ada to make the DMZ livable. Parco gave him a jumpdrive saying the information would clear him and prove that the US had no justification for their invasion. Matty left Parco, plugged the drive into his laptop, and made the tough decision to make a phonecall. The FSA Commander revealed Parco's location before being killed, and Parco was taken in for a military tribunal. He was candid about his relationship with the FSA, saying he was never in their pocket, but needed them as protection and to oversee Trustwell and the US military leaving the DMZ. He admitted he had a nuclear bomb as a deterrent, but was adamant that he never detonated his atomic bomb, and told them he had proof. Matty had the drive in his hands, deciding what to do with it, and got the military to locate Zee so he could talk over the moral quandary with her. She said his pursuit of the greater good was abstract, and asked him what would result in more dead bodies piling up, telling the truth or letting the war wrap up. Matty contacted his father, who got him a meeting with the President. Matty agreed to hand over the drive, and after the war the footage he had of Viktor Ferguson's execution in exchange for Parco and his sister being relocated outside of the US. He didn't want Parco to know he'd saved his life, in fact he never wanted anything to do with Parco ever again. Matty's father said he was proud of him, and Matty was hoping that with the end of the war Manhattan could be rebuilt.

Parco Delgado had a cameo in DMZ #57, 71, 72.

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