United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 20-2964 ___________________________ Victor Hugo Paredes Gonzales; Pablo Paredes Gonzales; Jose Paredes Gonzales Petitioners v. Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General of the United States Respondent ____________ Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals ____________ Submitted: October 19, 2021 Filed: April 1, 2022 ____________ Before COLLOTON, SHEPHERD, and KELLY, Circuit Judges. ____________ KELLY, Circuit Judge. Victor Hugo Paredes Gonzales, Pablo Paredes Gonzales, and Jose Paredes Gonzales (collectively, Petitioners),1 sought asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). An immigration judge (IJ) denied Petitioners all relief, and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA or Board) 1 When referring to individuals, we use first names for clarity. affirmed. Petitioners seek review of the denial of their CAT claim. Having jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252, we deny the petition. I. Petitioners are brothers and citizens of Bolivia. They, along with a fourth partner named Luis Fernando Galleguillos Larrain, operated a company producing organic stevia called Tierra Dulce. Petitioners came to the United States on temporary visas in May 2015. They assert that they fled Bolivia because investors in Tierra Dulce, many of whom were retired Bolivian military and government officials, were unhappy with the lack of returns in 2014 and 2015 and threatened Petitioners with harm. Petitioners were charged with fraud in Bolivia and warrants were issued for their arrest in May 2015. Luis also fled Bolivia initially but returned in June 2015. He was jailed and has not received a trial on the charges against him. Bolivia subsequently obtained Interpol Red Notices seeking Petitioners’ arrest.2 Once their temporary visas expired, Petitioners sought asylum in the United States, and their I-589 applications were referred to the immigration court. In 2019, Petitioners were charged with removability and conceded the charges. They filed updated I-589 forms, and the IJ held hearings on their petitions in January 2020. The IJ denied Petitioners’ claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection. In particular, the IJ was not satisfied that Petitioners’ testimony was credible because of inconsistencies and gaps in the record. The IJ also found that Petitioners had not shown it was more likely than not they would be tortured if returned to Bolivia. Petitioners appealed to the BIA, which affirmed the IJ’s opinion. The BIA concluded that the IJ did not clearly err in making an adverse credibility finding or concluding that Petitioners had not demonstrated with sufficient certainty 2 Interpol describes a Red Notice as “a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person” so he or she can be returned to the country where an alleged crime was committed for judicial proceedings. Red Notices, Interpol, https://www.interpol.int/en/How-we-work/Notices/Red-Notices (last visited Mar. 28, 2022). -2- that they would be tortured. Petitioners had also filed a motion to remand on the basis of new evidence—a document indicating that the district attorney in Bolivia recommended dismissal of some of the charges against Petitioners. The BIA …
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