Kristen Martinez-Gugerli is the Venezuela Program Associate at WOLA, where she conducts research, facilitates congressional outreach, and provides support for the Venezuela program. Her main areas of interest are conflict resolution and human rights for vulnerable populations. At WOLA, she actively works to advocate for humanitarian assistance to Venezuela, the development of a peaceful and democratic resolution, and the rights of Venezuelan migrants and refugees. Ms. Martinez-Gugerli graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2019 with a BPhil in International and Area Studies and Political Science and a certificate in Latin American Studies.
As most countries across the hemisphere prioritize national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, little attention has been paid to the needs of the world’s refugee and migrant populations. This is particularly true for the more than 5 million Venezuelans who have fled to neighboring countries since 2015, the majority of whom are without regular status in their host countries.
While each country has its own unique domestic challenges to consider, participating countries will need to develop a mutually agreed-upon set of minimum standards for long-term access to basic services, labor markets, and regular status if they are to properly address the needs of fleeing Venezuelans in compliance with the obligations of the Cartagena Declaration.
In May, the Lawfare Institute hosted an online symposium in which experts on international law engaged questions surrounding the legality and efficacy of unilateral sanctions—that is, sanctions imposed by an individual state rather than the United Nations Security...
As the international community ramps up efforts to find a peaceful, diplomatic solution to Venezuela’s crisis, both Norwegian mediation efforts and the International Contact Group (ICG) have demonstrated a clear understanding of the pitfalls of previous negotiations...
Director for Venezuela @GRamsey_LatAm
WOLA Senior Fellow and the Charles A. and Leo M. Favrot Professor of Human Relations at Tulane University
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