Anibal Barrow

Aníbal Barrow (September 15, 1948 in San Pedro Sula – June 24, 2013) was a Honduran journalist and news anchor who had a television show on Globo TV from 05:30–07:30 from Monday to Friday. He was also a trained agronomist who at the time of his death was a professor of mathematics at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras.

In June 2013 he was kidnapped and murdered in San Pedro Sula, with the newspaper La Prensa described Barrow's murder as “the most ruthless crime against a communicator (journalist) in the annals of Honduran history.” He was the 36th journalist in Honduras to have been killed in a decade, and the 26th to have been killed since the June 2009 coup d’état.

Early life and education Barrow's parents separated when he was six or eight years old.

While he was a student at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras he was an active member of the United University Democratic Front (Frente Unido Universitario Democrático, FUUD), and was in charge of logistical coordination and public relations for that group.

Career

Journalism In La Ceiba, Barrow worked in the radio. He then moved to San Pedro Sula, where he began working in journalism. From 1992 to 1996, according to one source, he worked at Vica TV on “Starting Early” (Desde Temprano), an early-morning news program that was broadcast on national television.

After leaving Vica, Barrow began broadcasting his own program, “Aníbal Barrow and Nothing More” (Aníbal Barrow y Nada Más) on channel 42 of Hondured Television. At first it was broadcast on weekdays between 4 and 8 am. Later it was shortened to an hour.

At the time of his death he was also regularly hosting a radio program on Radio Norte, “Two to Eleven,” (Dos a las once) with his colleague Jorge Oseguera. They had been working together on the program since 2011.

Other activities During the administrations of Carlos Roberto Reina (1994-1998) and Carlos Roberto Flores (1998-2002), Barrow served as regional director of the Institute for Professional Training (Instituto de Formación Profesional, INFOP). He was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for saying, on programs broadcast on December 21 and 26, 2001, that Guevara had stolen videos of Hurricane Mitch that were part of reports for which Guevara had won a prize.

Kidnapping and murder Barrow was kidnapped on June 24, 2013, on the outskirts of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, while traveling in a car with a driver and members of his family. At the time of the abduction, his blue Honda CRV was reportedly sitting still in traffic that was caused by an accident. Authorities said that he was abducted by at least ten armed assailants who had been seen in a white Mitsubishi without license plates. One source reported that three family members were abducted with him but were released unharmed; another source said he was travelling at the time with his daughter-in-law and grandson, in addition to a driver, and that these three persons were taken with him but released unharmed. Barrow's captors drove him to Las Cañeras, an area in the Department of Cortes between San Pedro Sula and the municipality of San Manuel.

No ransom request was ever made. Later the same day, Barrow's vehicle was found behind a sugar-cane refinery in Las Cañeras. There was a bullet hole in one door and there were traces of blood inside the vehicle. One of the perpetrators, who eventually came into the custody of authorities and was held as a protected witness, told the police where Barrow's body was located, At around 9:00 on the morning of July 9, 2013, Barrow's burned and dismembered torso, from which the arms, legs, and head had been removed, was found by the Siboney lagoon in the Dos Caminos district of Villanueva, about 20 kilometers from San Pedro Sula. Authorities believed that Barrow had been killed on the day of his abduction. His head and limbs were found later on July 9. Police discovered Barrow's clothing and bankbook in the vicinity of his body. The remains were identified by means of forensic tests.

The last message sent by Barrow on his mobile phone read: “The truth prevails and triumphs sooner or later.”

Arrests Four members of the Gordo criminal gang were arrested in connection with the murder on July 5. Two of them, Gustavo Armando Durán Banegas (23) and Delmer Donael Durán Banegas (21), were apprehended in the Altos de Santa Fe neighborhood of Dos Caminos in Villanueva. In the Brisas del Cacao neighborhood of Lomas del Carmen, José Hernán Díaz Mejía (44) and Ibis Laurent Lara Pereira (24) were taken into custody.

As of July 9, at least four other persons were being actively sought by the police, all of them identified as material participants in the crime: Héctor Noel Baquedano Galindo, Heber Natanael Mendoza Contreras, Denis Omar Ramírez Martínez, and an unnamed minor. The above-mentioned protected witness told police that a criminal group had been paid 400,000 lempiras (about $20,000) to kill Barrow. Some news media reported that a “highly placed” individual had ordered and paid for the murder.

Reactions “We express our solidarity with Barrow’s family and all Honduran journalists, who are traumatized by this barbaric crime,” Reporters Without Borders said. “While the investigation has already produced some results, the murder will remain unpunished as long as the instigators have not been identified and brought to trial.” Reporters Without Borders added: “It seems highly probable that Barrow’s murder was linked to his work as a journalist.”

The UN has identified Honduras as having the highest murder rate in the world and San Pedro Sula as being the city with the world's highest murder rate. The connection between all this information and the murder was not made clear to the public.

Personal life Barrow married Leda Maradiaga in 1983. They had three children: Anibal, Fernando, and Astrid. After his death they described him as very loving and supportive in every way.

Barrow's son Anibal was born in 1985, attended the Instituto Experimental La Salle and UNICAH, the Catholic University of Honduras. He won a seat representing the Department of Cortes in the Honduran Congress in the November 2013 elections.

Barrow was a passionate fan of the Olimpia soccer team.

After Barrow's murder, his son said: “We forgive the people who did this because it is not up to us to say what should happen to them.”