[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT FILED
________________________ U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
No. 08-12231 MARCH 4, 2009
Non-Argument Calendar THOMAS K. KAHN
CLERK
________________________
Agency Nos. A99-547-750, A99-547-751
JUAN ALBERTO RUIZ-AYALA,
MARIA TERESA GUERRA-VIDALES,
JUAN CAMILO RUIZ-GUERRA,
DIANA MARIA RUIZ-GUERRA,
Petitioners,
versus
U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL,
Respondent.
________________________
Petition for Review of a Decision of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
_________________________
(March 4, 2009)
Before TJOFLAT, DUBINA and PRYOR, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Juan Alberto Ruiz Ayala and his family, natives and citizens of Colombia,
petition this Court for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals
that denied Ruiz’s application for asylum under the Immigration and Nationality
Act. 8 U.S.C. §§ 1158, 1231; 8 C.F.R. § 208.16. The Board found that Ruiz failed
to establish that he suffered past persecution on account of a protected ground. We
deny the petition.
Substantial evidence supports the finding by the Board that Ruiz failed to
establish that his persecution was on account of a protected ground. See Sanchez
v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 392 F.3d 434, 438 (11th Cir. 2004). Ruiz worked with a
community organization to counsel youth against participation in guerilla
activities, and he acknowledges that the guerillas threatened him and harmed his
wife because his activities hampered their recruiting. “[E]vidence that . . . is
consistent with . . . the petitioner’s failure to cooperate with guerillas . . . does not
constitute evidence of persecution based on a statutorily protected ground.” Ruiz
v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 440 F.3d 1247, 1258 (11th Cir. 2006); Sanchez v. U.S. Att’y
Gen., 392 F.3d 434, 437–38 (11th Cir. 2004). The record does not compel a
finding of a connection between Ruiz’s persecution and his political opinion.
We DENY Ruiz’s petition for review.
2