This study explores the risk premia embedded in sovereign default swaps using a term structure model. The risk premia remunerate investors for unexpected changes in the default intensity. A number of interesting results emerge from the analysis. First, the risk premia contribution to the spreads decreases over the sample, 2003-2007, and rebounds at the start of the "credit crunch." Second, the daily risk premia co-move with US macro news and corporate default risk. Third, global factors explain most of Latin American countries' premia, and local factors of European and Asian ones. The importance of global factors grows over time.