Ana Karina Garcia Martinez

In response to the unprecedented situation of the Venezuelan sociopolitical crisis, Ana Karina, a refugee herself, recognized the precarious plight of thousands of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. She seeks to integrate these individuals into their new society, unleashing their potential as agents of change by providing them with tools and connecting them to new life projects. She is transforming the assistance-based approach to welcoming refugees while simultaneously breaking the cycle of poverty in which they frequently become trapped. Her integration strategy extends beyond the individual, encompassing family members for their collective integration, fostering the foundations for vibrant communities and a thriving diaspora.

Ana Karina has established a comprehensive "support route" system specifically designed for migrants, displaced individuals, and vulnerable communities. This innovative approach transcends the limitations of conventional assistance programs that often focus on addressing individual needs in isolation. Instead, Ana Karina’s "360 Model" encompasses the entire family unit and leverages existing migrant support services to integrate these resources effectively and complement them in a meaningful way for the Venezuelan diaspora in Colombia. She fosters connections, learning opportunities, and mutual support among migrants and within the host communities and organizations that offer services within the broader ecosystem. This comprehensive approach to addressing the entire chain of vulnerabilities effectively mitigates the risk of families relapsing into poverty, a groundbreaking achievement in Colombia and throughout Latin America.

Ana Karina’s work extends beyond simply providing support; she actively fosters a sense of community among migrants, empowering them to become a diaspora capable of welcoming and supporting their fellow nationals facing similar challenges. Her "360 Model" incorporates psychological support tools that assist migrants in navigating the emotional turmoil of migration and loss of identity, guiding them towards a renewed sense of purpose and encouraging them to become active members of their new communities. Once their basic needs are met and they begin to integrate into Colombian society, Ana Karina’s initiatives cultivate a sense of belonging and empowerment among migrants.

The “360 Model” has led the Mayor of Bogota to create “Integrate Centers” that focus on comprehensive support to migrants through referrals to various services, including Ana Karina’s program. At the policy level, she is changing regulations that impede migrants from working and accessing key societal infrastructure like healthcare and education, thus changing their options for breaking out of the cycle of poverty. She also gathers previously non-existent data about migrants that supports the government in decision-making around this population, helping inform more effective policies. Each of these pieces contributes to changing the experience for migrants in Colombia, effectively clearing a path to stability that didn’t exist before.

Since 2015, the systemic crisis in Venezuela has resulted in forced migration, displacing over 8 million Venezuelans worldwide (30% of the current 30 million population). Colombia, as a neighboring nation with a long history of human and economic mobility across its borders, has received the largest share of Venezuelan migrants. This influx occurred so rapidly that it transformed the situation in Colombia, overwhelming the country’s social and migratory support structures.

Following the 2018 presidential election, the political crisis in Venezuela intensified around the legitimacy of the Venezuelan president, which gave victory to Nicolás Maduro. The Venezuelan National Assembly, with an opposition majority, declared Maduro a usurper of the presidency on the day of his second inauguration and released a plan to install Juan Guaidó as interim president, who was recognized as legitimate by some 60 countries; Western and Latin American countries supported Guaidó as interim president. In December 2022, three of the four main opposition political parties approved a reform to dissolve the interim government, saying the interim government had failed to achieve its stated goals.

Many Venezuelans who fled urgently due to necessity and without the required documentation or any savings to support themselves have joined the ranks of the poor in Colombia. Their irregular situation makes them especially vulnerable, forcing them to beg on the streets and often fall into homelessness. The sheer magnitude of the migration, coupled with the urgency and precarious situation of the migrants, has made it extremely difficult to regularize their migratory status. This lack of regular status hinders their access to services, healthcare, housing, employment, and education for migrant children and adolescents.

Another facet of the problem lies in the Colombian government’s approach to its migrant populations. The Colombian government views migration as a crisis rather than a phenomenon that will have a permanent presence within its territory. Consequently, the actions and programs stemming from this viewpoint primarily focus on humanitarian assistance, with solutions centered around single-window processing centers. These centers fail to propose structural and permanent solutions enabling migrants to become self-sufficient.

The three cities with the most migrants in Colombia are Bogotá, Medellín, and Cucuta. In Bogotá alone, at least 600,000 migrants cannot achieve effective legal and economic integration, becoming permanently and painfully trapped within Colombia’s cycle of poverty. Unable to secure genuine opportunities, migrants seek out other borders, risking their lives and those of their loved ones. They expose themselves to all kinds of abuses and violations of their rights on hazardous routes, such as the Darien Gap, on the long journey toward the United States.

An important number of migrants who remain in Colombia are unable to fully meet the needs of their families, especially if there are children in the home or if a single parent heads the family. Added to this is access to health care: if they are not regularized, they cannot benefit from health services or receive medical care. Finally, difficulties in accessing the healthcare system are often accompanied by a context of poverty. Another factor to consider is internally displaced persons, which refers to the internal migration of Colombians. Internal displacement in Colombia has stemmed from economic, social, and political causes. The struggle for control of land, the search for better living conditions, and persecution on ideological or political grounds have all been factors driving internal population displacement. These communities settle in vulnerable locations, and in many of these places, migrant populations also arrive, initiating a process of coexistence and shared experiences.

In 2018, Ana Karina abruptly emigrated to Colombia due to political persecution by the Venezuelan regime. She entered as a refugee, in precarious conditions and without the documentation for her permanent stay. Her future in Venezuela was truncated as the Venezuelan State denied her the possibility of returning. But Colombia opened its doors to her.

In 2019, Ana Karina founded the ‘Juntos se puede’ (Together it’s Possible) Foundation, through which she implemented her strategy at various levels. One of these levels is her Comprehensive Integration 360 Model, where she not only addresses the migrant’s emergency situation up to their empowerment but also articulates and coordinates with the migratory ecosystem by adding initiatives from other organizations and state institutions to her programs. At the same time, Ana Karina, at a macro level, influences the regulatory framework, without which the integration of the migrant into the host country is impossible. She has demonstrated that her approach is applicable to migrant, displaced, and vulnerable populations, as it helps break cycles of poverty and has also facilitated the creation of support and solidarity networks for the consolidation of the diaspora.

In her comprehensive integration 360 Model roadmaps, she defines four key actions: The first is Research of the emergency of the person to be served, which starts with the identification of the causes of family vulnerabilities, which come from the living place, health, and socioeconomic integration. From here, Individual Plans are created, and then families are invited to participate in integration and stabilization programs, such as “Fighting Together” for pregnant women, where they receive medical assistance, and “Access to Schools” for children in the school system; the second action is Legal and administrative regularization, by which they receive legal assistance; third action is Psychological stabilization, developed through the ‘Life Project’ program, addresses migratory mourning and grief, conditions often overlooked in integration programs. It provides essential psychological care and support to newcomers, establishing a fundamental groundwork for integration. This constitutes the fourth action, Socioeconomic integration, supported by the program “Integral Woman” for the empowerment of mothers who are heads of households, and “Training in capacities” to connect migrants with job opportunities, and ongoing monitoring is carried out to evaluate, based on well-being indicators, the structural change achieved within the family unit. Currently, it has a system that allows them to create migrant profiles, know their gaps and ways to identify the route to follow. She has a team of expert lawyers, psychologists, and doctors who assist her organization in providing the most helpful advice to migrants and their families.

Ana Karina introduced a new approach, the 360 Route, which prompted Mayor of Bogotá to establish Centros Integrate ( Integrate Centers). These centers provide comprehensive care and refer migrants to various services, including those offered through the 360 Route. As a result, the Municipality's system evolved into a comprehensive care system focused on development and integration, enabling it to address underlying structural issues.

For the economic inclusion of migrants, Ana Karina works with different organizations and public initiatives in Bogotá, such as the Secretary of Economic Development: migrant women arriving at Casa Morada are referred to the Ana Karina Model for support, and they collaborate on initiatives to promote migrant-owned businesses in the city, such as organizing fairs. Secretary of Culture of the Bogotá Mayor’s Office: They have partnered to make public libraries accessible to everyone. The Bogotá Chamber of Commerce facilitates the formalization of migrant ventures and raises awareness among companies about the barriers faced by migrants in their economic integration and contribution to the host country to promote more inclusive hiring practices and with the alliance with Compensar Employment Agency, CUSO International and CAFAM: they provide job vacancies to close the migrants’ job entry gaps.

In addition, she organizes employment pathways through strategic partnerships and initiatives such as the Creative Thinking Workshop. This workshop aims to capitalize on the existing skills of migrant women in areas like gastronomy, caregiving, and sewing, training them in circular economy techniques. Collaborating with local brands, such as Venezuelan designer Alejandro Crocker, they develop their skills and generate income by producing sustainable fashion garments. Furthermore, Ana Karina connects caregivers with opportunities offered by the Mayor’s Office ("Care Apples"), where they can find support and training to improve their lives.

Additionally, her program "One Nation" fosters social cohesion, mitigates xenophobia, and cultivates a diaspora community. She establishes communities among migrants, who build support networks and relationships during her workshops. For example, through a partnership with USAID, 60 community leaders in six Bogotá neighborhoods participated in a new initiative focused on building social cohesion and combating xenophobia.

Ana Karina not only handles referred cases but goes beyond the service itself (Route 360). She collects data and indicators from migrants. She transforms this data into reports and informs the government through advocacy, leading to informed decision-making. Ana Karina has a system and database that she shares and frequently makes proposals and reviews the realities concerning the regularization of the Venezuelan migrant population. Also, she presents reports to the Second Commission of the Senate of the Republic of Colombia, which serve as a foundation for their debates and contribute to influencing inter-party discussions.

At the same time, Ana Karina is influencing the regulatory framework through strategic litigation to promote structural changes in how the state addresses migration and integration issues. Evidence of this is her participation in the "Decree Temporary Protection Statute (PPT)." approved in 2021, serving as a legal framework for migratory regularization and the issuance of identification documents, enabling migrants to work and reside in the country. The "Temporary Protection Statute" has impacted the lives of over 2.5 million migrants in Colombia. In 2024, Ana Karina secured a landmark ruling through a constitutional protection action: “The PEP TUTOR” grants parents of Venezuelan minors the ability to regularize their immigration status in Colombia, and 'First Children' has guaranteed the recognition of Colombian nationality to children born in Colombian territory to Venezuelan nationals. This decision has had a significant impact, benefiting at least 100,000 migrants. In January 2025, Ana Karina successfully convinced the government to reform the asylum system to reduce case processing times and allow individuals to work with safe-conducts, granting them effective access to rights and protection. This has been driven by the recent persecution of political and human rights leaders in Venezuela.

Currently, Ana Karina is assisting the mayor’s office of Medellín to implement a migration policy, recognizing that the regulatory framework is a key tool to drive significant change. Ana Karina’s work has expanded to Ecuador and France. She recognizes the importance of taking advantage of existing policies, state social programs and resources in the place where she operates, instead of starting from scratch. Her commitment is to find solutions that adapt to both the specific needs of the migrant population and the host country through local policies in favor of all, making it an effective model regardless of the context, with a significant impact on the way poverty and social exclusion are addressed worldwide.

In the next two years, she hopes to expand her model to three other cities in Colombia—Medellín, Barranquilla, and Bucaramanga—as well as to major countries in LATAM where migrant diasporas are significant — Chile, Ecuador, Argentina, and Peru—. Currently, she is collaborating with the Universidad Minuto de Dios on a joint research project to collect data on the migratory dynamics of people who use the city of Bogotá as a springboard to reach the city of Medellín, with the destination of passing through the El Darién jungle to reach the United States. The focus of this research is not only on the migrants themselves but also on how their presence affects the economy, social interaction and local governance in the territories through which they pass, to understand how the migratory process influences the dynamics of municipalities and how it can contribute to the development of more effective integration and care strategies. Ana Karina believes that improving the migrant integration model in Colombia could have significant impacts in the Region and in the United States.

Ana Karina has directly benefited 17,000 people to date, which is 4,250 family units. In one year, she can impact 3,000 family units per year with today’s operation. Currently, significant results from the people (2,000 families) who participated in her 360 Integration Model in 2023 showed that 70% experienced a positive change in their access to basic services: health and education, 30% have improved their financial well-being which translates into access to income, bank account, and single tax registry, and 40% have improved their well-being indicators regarding the overall integration into the host country. After the intervention, participants expressed that they felt more comfortable in their environment and more integrated into their community, and the feeling of exclusion due to xenophobia decreased or disappeared.

Ana Karina has received support from international corporations: NET, Konrad, GIZ, Hand Savia Stupin and receives private donations from fundraising events. She has allies for employment: Compensar Employment Agency; The Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá, Save The Children, FAMIG, for shelter service, Red Cross, Scalabrinis, for multipurpose cash; ADN Dignidad and Norwegian Council, and for health services: Aids for aids, Coosalud, among others.

Ana Karina is a Venezuelan woman born into a working-class family. However, her father came from a humble family, and her mother’s family was Spanish, which led her to experience social contrasts and become multicultural. Despite facing challenges, her father persevered and instilled in her a strong work ethic. Ana Karina demonstrated leadership qualities from a young age and became involved in student activism. When her school was closed due to political reasons, she and her fellow students organized a protest that resulted in its reopening. This experience shaped her into a leader, leading her to participate in United Nations Programs.

During her university studies, Ana Karina joined the Student Council and, after several unsuccessful attempts, was elected student leader. In this role, she advocated for students from low-income backgrounds, securing scholarships and other forms of support. The deteriorating situation in Venezuela and her desire to contribute to democratic change led her to become the National Youth Leader for one of the country’s political movements. In this capacity, she fought to include young people, including student leaders, in decision-making processes, demonstrating her commitment to student participation.

Concurrently, Ana Karina worked for five years with AIESEC, the world’s largest youth organization, which aims to develop the next generation of leaders and connect them with corporate partners and NGOs. Her involvement in student politics led to her being targeted by the Venezuelan regime and facing an arrest warrant for her participation in street protests. In 2018, she was forced to flee to Colombia under precarious conditions due to political persecution.

In Colombia, Ana Karina became involved with the Venezuelan Embassy in Colombia during the diplomatic rupture between the two countries, supporting the regularization of Venezuelans and creating the migrant assistance department. She had the opportunity to recognize the deep and complex needs of migrants and the importance of organizing the Venezuelan diaspora as a potential agent of change. In December 2018, she began connecting with Venezuelan families living on the streets.

Even amid her forced migratory mourning, Ana Karina connects with her roots amidst the Christmas festivities, which are so important for both Venezuelan and Colombian society. Thus, she quickly activates herself with the promotion of toys collection for street children. It is through this process that she approaches the families of the lower strata and the harshness of the migrant conditions of her compatriots and the internally displaced Colombians because of the violence exercised by illegal groups in the territories.

Her years of leadership experience taught her that politics was not the only way to transform realities. She discovered that through social innovation, she could also achieve significant changes, creating models she believed were necessary to build a more just and dignified society for all, including migrants, returnees, and those displaced by violence in Colombia.