El Salvador finance minister says they had paid $800 million bond maturing on Monday

• The finance minister of El Salvador announces the repayment of an $800 million bond.
• The Central American nation is repaying its debt.
• President Nayib Bukele has come under pressure to show financial stability.

Alejandro Zelaya, finance minister of El Salvador, announced the repayment of an $800 million bond on Monday, the day before the bond was due to maturity and as pressure mounted on the Central American nation to move forward with debt reduction.

“We announce that we have today completed payment of the 2023 bond for $800 million, plus interest,” Zelaya said on Twitter, denouncing a “disinformation campaign” in national and international media.

According to the press office for the presidency, the payment, which followed another transaction, included $604.1 million and $23.4 million in interest. El Salvador, according to the statement, is repaying its debt.

After advocating for El Salvador’s acceptance of bitcoin as legal cash alongside the US dollar in 2021, President Nayib Bukele has come under pressure to show that the country has sound financial standing.

Rating agency Fitch downgraded El Salvador’s national debt in September from “CCC” to “CC,” indicating that a default on the debt was likely.

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