Ruben Esau Romero-Calderon, a native and citizen of Honduras, petitions this Court for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming the Immigration Judge’s denial of his application for withholding of removal. 1 In 2005, Romero-Calderon had been living in the United States for nearly a decade, but his brother was the leader of a farmers’ rights organization in Honduras and was allegedly killed that year for supporting farmers in a land dispute. Believing that a man named Natividad Hernandez had murdered his brother, Romero-Calderon placed a telephone call from the United States to a radio station in Honduras identifying and denouncing Hernandez as the murderer. Romero-Calderon testified that acquaintances in Honduras informed him that Hernandez had threatened to kill him as a result. Romero-Calderon filed the instant application, asserting that he feared persecution by Hernandez and his associates if he were to return to Honduras.

In denying Romero-Calderon’s application, the BIA found, inter alia, that Romero-Calderon failed to demonstrate the requisite nexus between his fear of persecution and a statutorily protected ground. See Kueviakoe v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 567 F.3d 1301, 1304 (11th Cir. 2009). Substantial evidence supports that finding. See id. Indeed, the essence of Romero-Calderon’s application is that Hernandez *869 and his associates would kill him for exposing and denouncing Hernandez as his brother’s murderer. Such personal retribution, however, is not a statutorily protected ground. See Sanchez v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 392 F.3d 434, 438 (11th Cir. 2004). Moreover, even assuming that Romero-Calderon was affiliated with his brother’s farmers’ rights organization (which could arguably constitute a protected ground), the record does not compel the conclusion that Hernandez or his associates sought to harm him on account of such affiliation. Accordingly, we deny Romero-Calderon’s petition.

PETITION DENIED.