Contreras

MEMORANDUM *

Ronald Giovanni Contreras, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of a final decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). The BIA affirmed, without opinion, the decision of the immigration judge (“IJ”) denying Contreras’s application for asylum and withholding of deportation. We deny the petition for review. Because the parties are familiar with the record, we recite only the facts necessary to explain our decision.

We review the IJ’s factual findings for substantial evidence. INS v. Elias-Zaca-rias, 502 U.S. 478, 481 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992). We uphold the findings unless a reasonable fact finder would be compelled to find in Contreras’s favor. See Lata v. INS, 204 F.3d 1241, 1244-45 (9th Cir.2000).

An asylum applicant demonstrates a well-founded fear of persecution based on past persecution by showing “(1) an incident, or incidents, that rise to the level of persecution; (2) that is ‘on account of one of the statutorily-protected grounds; and (3) is committed by the government or forces the government is either ‘unable or unwilling’ to control.” He v. Ashcroft, 328 F.3d 593, 603-04 (9th Cir.2003) (quoting Navas v. INS, 217…