Morales

MEMORANDUM ***

German Emilio Guitron Morales, a native and citizen of Guatemala, petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming without opinion the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . Because the BIA affirmed the IJ’s decision without opinion, we review the IJ’s decision as the final agency determination. See Falcon Carriche v. Ashcroft, 350 F.3d 845, 849 (9th Cir.2003). We deny the petition.

Substantial evidence supports the IJ’s denial of asylum because Guitron Morales did not demonstrate that his experiences, when soldiers and guerillas stopped his bus on two occasions to question passengers, amounted to past persecution. See Prasad v. INS, 47 F.3d 336, 339-40 (9th Cir.1995).

Substantial evidence also supports the IJ’s conclusion that Guitron Morales did not demonstrate a well-founded fear of future persecution should he return to Guatemala. He did not point to credible, direct, and specific evidence in the record that would support an objectively reasonable fear of…