President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has become a global sensation for his unconventional approach to governance, especially when it comes to combating organized crime and reviving his nation’s economy with cryptocurrencies. In less than five years of his tenure, 43-year-old Prez Bukele has crushed drug cartels and organized criminal gangs plaguing his country and also promoted Bitcoin as a parallel economy structure.
In a recent addressal, Bukele mentioned how he was warned by advisors that his style of treating criminals with iron fist can have negative repercussions on the country’s economy. Bukele added that the intellectual theory that “criminals also have a family to feed” isn’t practical and the only way to treat criminals is to remove them from the society.
Bukele highlighted his strategy for eliminating crime and the surprising role of crypto in boosting the economy. He further explained, that with an estimated 70,000 gang members involved in illicit activities, their earnings supported households through basic expenditures—food, diapers, rent, and even internet.
Bukele claimed that he was told that if he removed this underground economy abruptly, the country’s legal economy wouldn’t fill the gap fast enough, leading to economic collapse.
Bukele, however, rejected these theories, asserting that allowing crime to persist would mean losing the “war of incentives.” He illustrated the struggles a young Salvadoran faces—choosing between low-paying, grueling work, such as selling tomatoes in the market or joining a gang for easy money. Without addressing this disparity, the youth would inevitably gravitate towards crime.
Bukele also claimed that he decided to aggressively target gang members, not out of punishment, but to remove them from society and eliminate their influence. He claimed that with gangs gone, young people would no longer face extortion and could work without fear of losing their earnings. Bukele compared this process to cancer treatment—painful but necessary to restore the health of the nation.
By taking that major step Bukele accepted that “We would pay an economic price, and our calculations, not from our financial cabinet, but from within our security cabinet.”
Despite predictions of economic turmoil, Bukele’s gamble paid off.
He added, “Our GDP would fall by 10% to eliminate crime. But our GDP didn’t fall by 10%, it grew by 3.5%.” And the president credits crypto for much of this success.
By adopting Bitcoin, the country attracted new investments, boosted tourism, and created financial inclusion opportunities for the unbanked. With crime reduced and crypto fueling economic growth, El Salvador is now emerging as a case study of how technology and law enforcement reforms can work together.
Also Read: Nayib ‘Chivo’ Bukele: The El Salvador President who loves Bitcoin
