Immigrants from Honduras, Haiti, El Salvador and other countries who were given protected status to live in the United States should have a path to citizenship, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told National Public Radio on Friday.

The Trump administration said on Friday it will end temporary protections for immigrants in the United States from Honduras on Jan. 5, 2020, leaving potentially 57,000 people vulnerable to deportation.

After Willians Bonilla fled threats from a street gang in Honduras two years ago to seek asylum in the United States, he spent seven months in detention only to be deported back to his native land in Central America to face his attackers anew.

The second seizure of a coca plantation in Honduras within a year shows drug gangs are seeking to cut costs and turn the small Central American state into a producer rather than a transit hub for U.S.-bound cocaine, authorities said on Tuesday.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley pledged on Tuesday to raise the problem of drug trafficking at the United Nations after visiting Honduras and Guatemala this week and appeared to finesse a threat made by President Donald Trump to cut aid over the flow of drugs into the United States.

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 and clashes with OAS leadership.

Federal authorities announced drug trafficking and weapons charges against a congressman from Honduras on Friday, the latest U.S. case accusing current and former officials of the Central American country of involvement in the drug trade.

An earthquake of magnitude 7.6 that struck near remote islands belonging to Honduras on Tuesday was felt across northern Central America but there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.

Honduras' murder rate fell by more than a quarter in 2017 to 42.8 killings per 100,000 people, the security ministry said on Tuesday, attributing the decline to a government onslaught against drug traffickers and gangs.

The president of Honduras declared himself re-elected on Tuesday despite calls from the Organization of American States (OAS) for a fresh vote over allegations of fraud and deadly protests following last month's disputed election.