El Salvador President Naive Buquel said this Saturday that the country’s only pet hospital would be closing. The hospital was created with surplus funds from the country’s Bitcoin Trust.
Chivo Pets Hospital is closed after a negligence incident. The dog was abused and abandoned in a shelter run by the city of San Salvador.
Nayib Bukele posted the news on his Facebook page
Chivo Pets Page shared a statement on Facebook, saying: “After three years of dedication and commitment, it’s time to say goodbye. From 12am, Tibopet will close the door, but the love, devotion and story we shared will remain forever,” Bukere shared Tibopett post He wrote “Thank you all” on his Facebook page.
The president also announced the closure of the state Animal Welfare Institute and polypet, police services for pet protection, for the same reasons. “It is clear that neither the Animal Welfare Institute (IBA) nor the Polypet took the necessary action to avoid this issue. As a result, I have made the decision to close both agencies and proceed with the firing of all its officials and staff.”
Source: President El Salvador, Nayib Bukele’s Facebook page.
The leader made the decision after reading over 8,000 messages on social media. In these messages, people complained about how dogs in the shelter run by the city of East San Salvador were treated badly and left alone.
The veterinary hospital was built with a portion of about $4 million registered as a surplus from the national Bitcoin Adoption Trust Fund. When Nayib Bukele opened Chivo Pets, he insisted that the hospital would drive 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The hospital also cares for 200 animals at a negligible fee of $0.25 per day, thanks to Bitcoin trust revenue.
El Salvador has a long list of failed Bitcoin projects. Bukele’s failed Bitcoin projects include Bitcoin City, NFT Casino, Chivo Wallet, Volcanic Bonds, Lageo Crypto Mining Operation, and now Chivo Pets.
El Salvador buys Bitcoin while taking an IMF loan
El Salvador began to acquire one bitcoin every day in 2022 after President Naive Bukere I said At X, “From tomorrow, I’m buying one #bitcoin every day.” Central American countries have been buying bitcoin for the past two to three years.
In December 2024, El Salvador signed a contract with the IMF on a $1.4 billion loan. As part of that agreement, the Salvadoran government agreed to stop using Bitcoin as the national fiat currency and to reduce public sector involvement with Bitcoin.
In January 2025, El Salvador’s Congress updated the Bitcoin Act to match the terms of the IMF loan agreement. Lawmakers voted to repeal the previous version of the law with a vote of 55-2. Even after the changes, the government continued to buy Bitcoin. On February 1st, they bought two BTCs in one day and since then they have bought more every day.
The IMF asked El Salvador to stop buying Bitcoin. On March 3, the IMF said El Salvador cannot borrow money or sell Bitcoin-linked debts or digital tokens. President Nayib Bukele responded to the IMF pressure by saying that El Salvador continues to buy Bitcoin and describes the IMF’s ongoing pressure as “Whining.”
Since March 1, El Salvador has acquired 13 Bitcoins despite the IMF urging the public sector to refrain from accumulating digital assets. According to the El Salvador Bitcoin Office, the country has a total of over 6,105 bitcoins in the Treasury Department Website. These Bitcoins are worth over $511 million at the time of writing.
On a positive note, El Salvador is turning into a new code shelter. Several major crypto companies have announced their intention to move to El Salvador for the country’s Pro-Bitcoin stance. On January 7th, Bitfinex Derivatives said they were moving from Seychelles to El Salvador. Stablecoin Issuer Tether did the same by announcing its headquarters would be moved to El Salvador on January 13th.
