Case: 19-15079 Date Filed: 09/11/2020 Page: 1 of 12 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 19-15079 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ Agency No. A201-461-572 VICTOR RENE BERMUDEZ BLANDON, Petitioner, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ________________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ________________________ (September 11, 2020) Before MARTIN, ROSENBAUM, and BRANCH, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Case: 19-15079 Date Filed: 09/11/2020 Page: 2 of 12 Victor Rene Bermudez Blandon petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order affirming the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his petition for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”) arguing that the agency erred when it determined that (1) Bermudez Blandon failed to show past persecution or torture and (2) Bermudez Blandon did not show a well-founded fear of future persecution because he could reasonably relocate within Nicaragua. We dismiss his petition in part and grant his petition in part and remand his claims for further consideration as to whether internal relocation was reasonable. I. Bermudez Blandon is a native and citizen of Nicaragua. He is married and has five children, ranging in age from two to twenty years old. He was involved in political activities in opposition to the political party in power in Nicaragua: the Sandinista National Liberation Front. He had volunteered as a poll worker, electoral observer, and political organizer since 1996. In April 2018, members of the Sandinista National Liberation Front set tires on fire outside his home and threatened his family because of his opposition to the Nicaraguan government. Following that incident, Bermudez Blandon and his family relocated to his mother-in-law’s home and did not sleep in their home. His family remains in hiding with his in-laws. 2 Case: 19-15079 Date Filed: 09/11/2020 Page: 3 of 12 Bermudez Blandon, however, continued to operate his motorcycle repair business located next to his home, a business he built up over some twenty years. On the morning of July 7, 2018, Nicaraguan police and paramilitaries stormed his home and business and “took valuables, broke machinery in [his] business, and tied [his] workers in an effort to intimidate them.” With the help of a local priest, Bermudez Blandon fled. First Bermudez Blandon stayed with a friend of the priest for five days. After learning that nearby Sandinista paramilitaries began asking about him, Bermudez Blandon fled seven hours by foot to an abandoned farm in the mountains of Nicaragua. Two days after Bermudez Blandon fled, the police and paramilitaries burned down his home and business. He did not report any of these incidents to the Nicaraguan authorities because he feared they would protect the paramilitaries who caused these incidents. Bermudez Blandon was never attacked or physically harmed. He has been separated from his family since July 7, 2018. On October 1, 2018, Bermudez Blandon left Nicaragua. From Nicaragua, he traveled through Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico, before entering the United States without inspection on or around ...
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