Arrubla

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Gloria Janett Vanegas Arrub-la (“Vanegas”) seeks review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) denying her application for asylum. She claims that she adequately demonstrated past persecution and a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of her political opinion by the gueril-la-terrorist organization FARC, entitling her to asylum. See 8 U.S.C. § 1158 (b)(1); 8 C.F.R. § 1208.18 (b).

Vanegas first contends that the BIA erred in concluding that she had failed to advance a political opinion claim before the Immigration Judge (“IJ”). We review the factual findings of the BIA for substantial evidence. Hamazaspyan v. Holder, 590 F.3d 744, 747 (9th Cir.2009). The BIA stated that Vanegas “only tangentially mentioned that she went to political meetings,” “never testified that FARC was aware of her political activities” or sought to harm her because of them, and failed to explain why threats from FARC were related to her political activities. The BIA used these points in part to justify its conclusion that Vanegas failed to establish persecution on account of her political opinion. The record shows that Vanegas answered questions about…