Anibal Barrow

Aníbal Barrow (September 15, 1948 in San Pedro Sula – June 24, 2013)[1] was a Honduran journalist and news anchor who had a television show on Globo TV from 05:30–07:30 from Monday to Friday.

[5] 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.

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.

[4] In July 2009, at the time of the Honduran coup, he and three other journalists, Patricia Arias of Canal 8, Allan McDonald of the El Heraldo, and Esdras Amado López, owner of the Canal 36 television station, were feared missing, but it turned out that they, along with other journalists, had “decided to lay low because of the ongoing political crisis.” Contemporaneous reports on this matter identified Barrow as an associate of Hondured.

[4] Barrow's own Facebook postings indicate that as of 2011 was the moderator of a regular evening program called “Theories and Realities” on Hondored and was also the host of the morning talk and commentary series, “Aníbal and Nothing More,” which at that point was airing from 6 to 8 am on both Hondured and TVH.

By the time of his death Barrow had moved to Globo TV, taking with him the morning talk show, “Aníbal and Nothing More,” that he had previously hosted on Hondured.

Navarro described him as a man who was “always jovial, analytical, and combative” and who always “spoke the truth to everyone.” Navarro wrote that he had never heard Barrow “rail against his political opponents,” and memorialized him as a “soldier hero who has fallen in the daily combat for information....The voice and the pen will never be silenced, someone will always pick up the flag.”[6] In addition to his journalistic work, Barrow was a longtime professor of mathematics.

The chairman of the Mathematics Department at UNAH-VS, Raul Alvarado, described Barrow as “extremely responsible” and praised his dedication and collaborative spirit.

[13] 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.

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.

[8][9][15][16][17] The last message sent by Barrow on his mobile phone read: “The truth prevails and triumphs sooner or later.”[18] Four members of the Gordo criminal gang were arrested in connection with the murder on July 5.

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.

“I trust that the authorities will be able to bring to justice those responsible for this crime which undermines freedom of expression in Honduras and journalists’ ability to exercise their profession.

We strongly urge authorities to clarify...whether or not the motive [for the crime] was his profession.”[17] The President of Honduras, Porfirio Lobo Sosa, declared national mourning and issued a statement condemning the murder and expressing condolences to his family, friends, and viewing audience.

[19] It was reported on July 27 that after Barrow had started broadcasting his program on Globo TV, he had begun to receive e-mailed death threats.

Barrow's son Anibal was born in 1985, attended the Instituto Experimental La Salle and UNICAH, the Catholic University of Honduras.