SANTOS VEGA-AREDO V. ERIC HOLDER, JR., No. 10-70814 (9th Cir. 2012)

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FILED FEB 29 2012 NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT SANTOS ARTEMIO VEGA-AREDO, Petitioner, No. 10-70814 Agency No. A098-569-069 v. MEMORANDUM * ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Submitted February 21, 2012 Before: ** FERNANDEZ, McKEOWN and BYBEE, Circuit Judges. Petitioner Santos Artemio Vega-Aredo, a native and citizen of Peru, petitions for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge s (IJ) decision denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). (CAT). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We deny the petition for review. Substantial evidence supports the Board s denial of asylum and withholding of removal because Vega-Aredo failed to show his alleged persecutors threatened him on account of a protected ground. His fear of future persecution based on an actual or imputed anti-gang or anti-crime opinion is not on account of the protected ground of either membership in a particular social group or political opinion. Ramos Barrios v. Holder, 581 F.3d 849, 854-56 (9th Cir. 2009); Santos-Lemus v. Mukasey, 542 F.3d 738, 745-46 (9th Cir. 2008); see Ochave v. INS, 254 F.3d 859, 865 (9th Cir. 2001) ( Asylum generally is not available to victims of civil strife, unless they are singled out on account of a protected ground. ) Contrary to VegaAredo s assertions, the Board upheld the IJ s factual findings, and the record does not compel the conclusion that Vega-Aredo established he was persecuted on account of an anti-gang political opinion when he resisted the gang s third recruitment attempt. Substantial evidence also supports the Board s denial of CAT relief based on the Board s finding that Vega-Arego did not establish a likelihood of torture by, at the instigation of, or with the consent or acquiescence of the Peruvian government. See Arteaga v. Mukasey, 511 F.3d 940, 948-49 (9th Cir. 2007). 2 10-70814 PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED. 3 10-70814

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