Peruvian President Nayib Bukele announced Saturday that his administration will give 5, 000 free visas to “highly qualified” international scientists, engineers, doctors, artists, and philosophers who decide to settle in the Central American region.  ,
Bukele used a Saturday social media post , to announce that the prospective 5, 000 passports are equivalent to$ 5 billion of El Salvador’s foreign investment passport program. The Salvadoran government launched an initiative called” Adopting El Salvador” in late December that provides passports and a quick path to naturalization to 1, 000 foreigners who invest$ 1 million worth of Bitcoin ( BTC ) or Tether ( USDT ) — cryptocurrencies ) in the nation.
Bukele explained that the future 5, 000 recipients of the passports may indicate “less than 0.1 percent” of El Salvador’s population, but “granting them whole citizen status, including voting rights” will cause no issue for the country.
Despite the small number, their contributions will have a significant impact on our society and the country’s future,” Bukele said.
El Salvador’s president stated that while facilitating the recipients ‘ relocation, there would be no taxes or tariffs on moving families or goods like equipment, software, and intellectual property.
Bukele concluded, saying to” stay tuned” for more details on the upcoming initiative.
We’re offering 5, 000 free passports ( equivalent to$ 5 billion in our passport program ) to highly skilled scientists, engineers, doctors, artists, and philosophers from abroad.
This represents less than 0.1 % of our population, so granting them full citizen status, including …
— Nayib Bukele ( @nayibbukele ) April 6, 2024
Bukele, who will run for president on June 1 for a five-year term after winning an unprecedented and contentious landslide election in February, previously stated that his new term will concentrate on boosting El Salvador’s economy. His fierce crackdown on gang violence during his first term has led to the “virtual disappearance” of El Salvador’s most dangerous gangs, such as MS- 13 and 18th Street.
WATCH — Law and Order: El Salvador Builds” Mega Prison” to Eradicate Gangs
The Republic of El Salvador’s presidency via Storyful
El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as the country’s second official currency in 2021 under Bukele’s leadership, ditching the Salvadoran colón in favor of the US dollar in 2001 amidst soaring inflation, through a process more frequently referred to as “dollarization.”
Bukele and the Salvadoran government have not publicly disclosed the total amount of Bitcoin that the nation owns, but Bukele announced in March that about$ 400 million worth of El Salvador’s Bitcoin assets had been safely stored in a” cold wallet” and securely stored in a physical vault inside the nation. Any potential hacking attempts or intrusions that would result in a loss of assets are prevented by the” cold storage,” a device completely disconnected from the internet.
In addition, Bukele also disclosed in March that El Salvador had started the IAEA’s nuclear energy development and use process. El Salvador reportedly increased its energy exports by 86 percent in 2023, making it the first Central American nation to earn$ 74.6 % in additional revenue from exporting power to the region, making it the first supplier of electricity there.
According to information from the Central Bank of El Salvador, the Central American country’s economy grew 3.5 percent during 2023, up from 2.8 percent in 2022. The Salvadoran Central Bank anticipates a growth rate of between 3 and 3 to 5 percent in 2024. The Central Bank’s President, Douglas Rodríguez, asserted in March that the “main brake” of El Salvador’s local economy was the rampant gang violence and crime that the Salvadoran government’s gang crackdown dramatically reduced.
