A top international anti-corruption official in Honduras has resigned, the Organization of American States announced Tuesday.

The OAS Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) said in a statement that its chief, Ana Maria Calderon, had stepped down on January 2.

It said the Peruvian's decision was made for "strictly personal and professional reasons."

Ana Maria Calderon, head of the OAS Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), has resigned
Ana Maria Calderon, head of the OAS Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), has resigned AFP / ORLANDO SIERRA

However, her resignation comes amid talks between the government of President Juan Orlando Hernandez and the OAS over renewing the mission's mandate, which expires on January 19.

Honduras's business sector as well as US lawmakers have lobbied the government in Tegucigalpa to maintain the mission for another four-year mandate to help the fight against corruption.

The MAACIH was set up in 2016 amid protests calling for Hernandez's resignation over the looting of $330 million from the country's social security services.

Hernandez admitted social security fund money had been used by his election campaign, although he claimed it happened without his knowledge.