Head of OAS anti-corruption mission in Honduras resigns

FILE PHOTO: Juan Jimenez, spokesman of the OAS Mission to Support the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), speaks during a news conference in Tegucigalpa, Honduras January 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jorge Cabrera/File Photo

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The head of the Organization of American States' anti-corruption mission in Honduras said on Thursday he would resign over a lack of support from authorities in the Central American country.

"With great regret and after deep reflection, I announce my resignation," Juan Jimenez, a Peruvian, wrote in a post on Twitter explaining the reasons for his departure.

The Mission to Support the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) was created by the OAS in 2016 at the request of the Honduran government.

The request followed months of popular marches demanding investigation of corruption in Honduras by an autonomous group, such as the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).

(Reporting by Gustavo Palencia; additional reporting by Enrique Andres Pretel; writing by Julia Love; editing by Tom Hogue)