According to President Nayib Bukele, the nation sits atop a deposit of gold that could radically transform the small country's financial future.

In a speech earlier this week, Bukele said that the Central American nation is sitting on unmined gold worth as much as $3 trillion, which is roughly over 8,800% of its current GDP. “We’ve also found gallium, tantalum, tin and many other materials needed for the 4th and 5th industrial revolution,” Bukele said.

El Salvador's gold reserves could be worth an astounding three trillion dollars - representing over 8,800% of the country's current GDP

El Salvador's gang-busting strongman President Nayib Bukele has set out on a new mission: to kickstart his country's sputtering economy by inviting back the mining companies that were barred seven years ago.

The Catholic Church in El Salvador has asked President Nayib Bukele not to repeal the 2017 law that prohibits the mining of metals in that country.