Case Name: Fredy Gamas LOPEZ, Petitioner, v. Eric H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2014-11-10
Citations: 585 F. App'x 633
Docket Number: No. 11-73228
Parties: Fredy Gamas LOPEZ, Petitioner, v. Eric H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent.
Judges: Before: LEAVY, GOULD, and BERZON, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 585
Pages: 633–634

Head Matter:
Fredy Gamas LOPEZ, Petitioner, v. Eric H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent.
No. 11-73228.
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Submitted Oct. 14, 2014.
Filed Nov. 10, 2014.
Peter Hurtado, Seattle, WA, for Petitioner.
Oil, Norah Ascoli Schwarz, Senior Litigation Counsel, Laura Halliday Hickein, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, Chief Counsel Ice, Office of the Chief Counsel Department of Homeland Security, San Francisco, CA, for Respondent.
Before: LEAVY, GOULD, and BERZON, Circuit Judges.
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R.App. P. 34(a)(2).

Opinion:
MEMORANDUM
Fredy Gamas Lopez, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' order dismissing his appeal from the immigration judge's decision denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture ("CAT"). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for substantial evidence the agency's factual findings. Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir.2006). We deny in part and grant in part the petition for review, and we remand.
Substantial evidence supports the denial of Gamas Lopez's CAT claim because Ga-mas Lopez failed to establish it is more likely than not he would be tortured by or with the consent or acquiescence of the Guatemalan government. See Silaya v. Mukasey, 524 F.3d 1066, 1073 (9th Cir.2008). Thus, we deny the petition for review as to Gamas Lopez's CAT claim.
The record compels the conclusion, however, that Gamas Lopez established his political neutrality was a central reason for the harms he suffered and fears. See Sangha v. INS, 103 F.3d 1482, 1488 (9th Cir.1997) (an applicant may establish a political opinion by establishing political neutrality "in an environment in which political neutrality is fraught with hazard"); see also Hu v. Holder, 652 F.3d 1011, 1017-19 (9th Cir.2011) (record compelled the conclusion that petitioner established one central reason for persecution was a protected ground). Thus, we grant the petition for review as to Gamas Lopez's asylum and withholding of removal claims, and we remand this case to the agency for further proceedings consistent with this disposition. See INS v. Ventura, 537 U.S. 12, 16-18, 123 S.Ct. 353, 154 L.Ed.2d 272 (2002) (per curiam).
Each party shall bear its own costs for this petition for review.
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED in part; GRANTED in part; REMANDED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9 th Cir. R. 36-3.