Troops patrol a neighborhood in San Salvador.
Photographer: Carlos Barrera/BloombergCrime’s Plunge and Bitcoin’s Boom Still Leave El Salvador Chasing Economic Miracle
El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings soared with Donald Trump’s election victory. The President-elect’s migration stance may be more problematic for his ally Bukele’s economic plans.
The gang members who used to prey on the coffee growers of the Balsamo mountain range are all gone — jailed, shot dead, or on the run under the security crackdown that made El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele among the world’s most popular leaders.
With the gangs dismantled and their extortion rackets no more, a huge obstacle to development has been lifted, and the farmers of the region’s rich volcanic soil should be cashing in on a 75% rise in the world coffee price this year. But it’s not working out like that.