Gonzalez-Ramirez

MEMORANDUM **

Walter Ariel Gonzalez-Ramirez, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) dismissal of his appeal from an immigration judge’s denial of his applica *373 tion for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review the BIA’s factual findings for substantial evidence, Pedro-Mateo v. INS, 224 F.3d 1147, 1150 (9th Cir.2000), and we deny the petition for review.

Gonzalez-Ramirez contends that he suffered past persecution on account of political opinion. Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s factual finding that, at most, Gonzalez-Ramirez established that he had been the victim of criminal activity in Guatemala. See Bolshakov v. INS, 133 F.3d 1279, 1280-81 (9th Cir.1998). Because Gonzalez-Ramirez failed to establish past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of a statutorily protected ground, Gonzalez-Ramirez failed to establish eligibility for asylum. See Singh v. INS, 134 F.3d 962, 971 (9th Cir. 1998).

Because Gonzalez-Ramirez failed to establish eligibility for asylum, he necessarily failed to satisfy the more stringent standard for…