The Second Circuit rejected a gang recruitment-based political opinion asylum claim, finding that opposition to the gangs is not a form of political opinion in the absence of any evidence that the gangs are political entities. The court also rejected the petitioner’s CAT claim - which was premised on the police taking him to the gang and watching gang members beat him and break his arm - because the passage of three months of time before the petitioner left the country and the continued presence of his family in the home country undermined the likelihood of future torture.
The full text of Zelaya-Moreno v. Wilkinson can be found here: