United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 19-1347 ___________________________ Luis Amadeo Prieto-Pineda Petitioner v. William P. Barr, Attorney General of the United States Respondent ____________ Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals ____________ Submitted: March 12, 2020 Filed: May 28, 2020 ____________ Before ERICKSON, GRASZ, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________ ERICKSON, Circuit Judge. Luis Amadeo Prieto-Pineda (“Prieto-Pineda”) is a citizen of El Salvador who, after conceding removability, sought asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). The Immigration Judge (“IJ”) found the asylum application was time-barred and denied withholding and CAT relief on the merits. The Board of Immigration Appeals (“the Board”) dismissed the appeal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 and affirm. I. Background Prieto-Pineda, a citizen and native of El Salvador, was the president of a local fishing cooperative in Canton El Escobal. As president of the cooperative, Prieto- Pineda controlled the cooperative’s boats. Members of Mara 18, a prominent criminal gang in Canton El Escobal, approached Prieto-Pineda seeking rides on the fishing cooperative boats to nearby islands and ports so the gang could avoid crossing the territory of its rival, MS-13. Prieto-Pineda agreed to provide rides to Mara 18 gang members in exchange for payment. During the trips, Prieto-Pineda overheard the gang members discussing the murder of people who had refused to help them. The gang members tried to recruit Prieto-Pineda but he demurred. When the Mara 18 gang members reduced the payment to Prieto-Pineda to gas reimbursement only, Prieto-Pineda declined to provide further access to the boats. Unhappy with Prieto-Pineda’s actions, Mara 18 gang members repeatedly came to his home late at night to threaten him. They stole animals from Prieto-Pineda’s farm, threw dead animals and rocks on his roof, and generally frightened his family. When these incidents occurred, Prieto-Pineda called the police and officers regularly arrived and frightened away the intruders with their sirens. Prieto-Pineda’s fears extended to MS-13 gang members because he was afraid they knew that he had been providing rides to Mara 18 members. Concerned for his safety, Prieto-Pineda left El Salvador and entered the United States through Texas in 2013 without being admitted or paroled. In September 2013, Prieto-Pineda was charged with removability and placed on bond pending his removal hearing. Without notifying the Department of Homeland Security, Prieto-Pineda left Texas for Minnesota and failed to appear at his removal hearing. From 2014 to 2017, Prieto-Pineda resided in Minnesota and maintained regular contact with his wife in El Salvador until her death in 2016. During these -2- conversations, she reported receiving threats from Mara 18 members. The gang members, apparently upset because Prieto-Pineda redistributed the cooperative’s boats among its members, stole the boat Prieto-Pineda had left for his family. In 2014, Prieto-Pineda’s wife described being pregnant as a result of a rape, giving birth to a child the following year. In 2016, Prieto-Pineda learned that his wife had been murdered. He does not know if Mara ...
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