El Salvador Paid off Bond Maturing in 2023 Despite Media Doubts
On January 24th, 2023 El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, announced that the country was able to pay off an $800 million bond despite numerous media outlets claiming that it would not be able to make payments because of its “Bitcoin bet.”
The payment, which followed a prior transaction, included $604.1 million and interest of $23.4 million, according to the presidency’s press office.
Bukele explained that the bond was paid off in full, including interest, and added that there is no coverage for this development.
The only outlet that initially covered El Salvador’s completed bond payment was a Colombian news site, Semana.
Bukele added a number of links to skeptical headlines for El Salvador’s decision that include:
“A Poor Country Made Bitcoin a National Currency. The Bet Isn’t Paying Off.” The New York Times July 5th, 2022
“El Salvador approaches default after the failure of Bitcoin Bonds” Estrategia & Negocios May 5th, 2022
“Nayib Bukele’s golden cage” The Washington Post May 26th, 2022
“After the failure of Bitcoin, El Salvador teeters on a financial abyss while Nayib Bukele flirts with his re-election” infobae September 17th, 2022
“Nayib Bukele's Bitcoin adventure could leave El Salvador on the brink of default” infobae January 29th, 2022
Support from the community is very positive based on the responses to Bukele’s thread. Salvadoran Deputy Bladimir Barahona responded by writing “the pain of some is that our country is on the right path president @nayibbukele”
Many others responded by writing “we are winning” or simply “legend.”