Cecil Zelaya Reyes v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Cecil Sofia Zelaya Reyes, a native and citizen of Honduras, petitions for review of the BIA’s dismissal of her appeal from an IJ’s decision denying her application for asylum and withholding of removal.

1. The BIA concluded that Reyes has established neither past persecution nor a well-founded fear of future persecution. We need not decide whether substantial evidence supports the conclusion that Reyes failed to establish past persecution. We conclude that substantial evidence does not support the conclusion that Reyes failed to establish a well-founded fear of future persecution. Reyes has presented “credible, direct, and specific evidence” supporting her reasonable fear of future persecution in Honduras. Rusak v. Holder, 734 F.3d 894, 896 (9th Cir.2013) (citing Duarte de Guinac v. INS, 179 F.3d 1156, 1159 (9th Cir.1999)). Her husband intercepted a dangerous drug trafficker, Alex Adan Montes Bobadilla, and her family came under threat right before her husband was to testify against Bobadilla’s associates. Reyes feared that Bobadilla’s return to Honduras might trigger an obligation on the part of her husband to testify against Bobadilla himself, which could put her…