Sebastian Rotella
Sebastian Rotella is a reporter at ProPublica. An award-winning foreign correspondent and investigative reporter, Sebastian's coverage includes terrorism, intelligence and organized crime.
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Sebastian Rotella is a senior reporter at ProPublica. An award-winning foreign correspondent and investigative reporter, he worked for almost 23 years for the Los Angeles Times before joining ProPublica in 2010. He covers international security issues including terrorism, intelligence, organized crime, human rights and migration. His reporting has taken him across the Americas and Europe, and to the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa.
In 2020, Sebastian was part of the ProPublica team whose coverage of the pandemic and the CDC was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for public service. The Association of Health Care Journalists gave that coverage the Award for Excellence in Health Care Journalism in the investigative category.
In 2016, he was co-writer and correspondent for Terror in Europe, a Frontline documentary that was a finalist for the Investigative Reporters and Editors broadcast/video award. In 2013, his Finding Oscar investigation with This American Life won a Peabody Award, a Dart Center Award, and two awards from the Overseas Press Club. In 2012, he was recognized with Italy’s Urbino Press Award for excellence in American journalism. His A Perfect Terrorist investigation of the Mumbai attacks (with Frontline) was nominated for an Emmy, and the online version of the story got an Overseas Press Club Award in 2011.
In 2006, he was named a Pulitzer finalist for international reporting for his L.A. Times coverage of terrorism and Muslim communities in Europe, which won the German Marshall Fund’s senior award for excellence in European reporting. He was part of a team whose coverage of al-Qaida received an Overseas Press Club award and finalist honors for Harvard University’s Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting in 2002. In 2001, he won Columbia University’s Maria Moors Cabot Prize for his career coverage of Latin America. His work in Latin America also won honors from the Overseas Press Club, Inter-American Press Association and the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
At the L.A. Times, Sebastian served as a correspondent at the Mexican border, in South America and in Europe. His border reporting inspired two songs on Bruce Springsteen’s album The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995).
Sebastian is the author of three novels: Rip Crew (2018), The Convert’s Song (2014), and Triple Crossing (2011).He is also the author of Twilight on the Line: Underworlds and Politics at the U.S.-Mexico Border (1998). He speaks Spanish, French and Italian. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, studied at the University of Barcelona, and was born in Chicago.
Star Witness in Terror Trial Could Heighten U.S.-Pakistan Tension
Tahawwur Rana is on trial for being an accomplice in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. But the spotlight will be on the star witness, David Coleman Headley, who has pleaded guilty in the case and has said he was working for Pakistan's intelligence service as well as for the terrorist group Lashkar-i-Taiba.
New Details in the bin Laden Docs: Portrait of a Fugitive Micro-Manager
Al Qaeda leader’s writings discuss everything from targeting U.S. leaders to personality clashes among militants.
Pakistan's Terror Ties at Center of Upcoming Chicago Trial
Federal prosecutors have quietly charged a suspected Pakistani intelligence officer with helping to plot the murders of six Americans in the 2008 terror Mumbai attacks. The trial of a defendant in the case begins this month in Chicago.
Discovery of Bin Laden Hideout Spotlights Concerns About Pakistan's Intelligence Service
Suspicions that Bin Laden was protected by Pakistan's intelligence service reinforce longtime allegations that the ISI plays a double game.
Mumbai Case Offers Rare Picture of Ties Between Pakistan's Intelligence Service, Militants
The confession by a key operative and other evidence gathered by U.S. authorities provides a rare look at the dealings between Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate and Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani militant group. The question remains: How much did senior officials know about the attack?
Four Alleged Masterminds of 2008 Mumbai Attacks Are Indicted in Chicago
Four alleged masterminds of the Mumbai attacks have been indicted in a U.S. federal court, including two who have been linked to Pakistan’s government, a close U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism.
Pakistan and the Mumbai Attacks: The Untold Story
The 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai offer a rare picture of the ties between Pakistan’s intelligence service and the militant group Lashkar-i-Taiba. The trail of two key figures, an accused Pakistani mastermind and his American operative, traces the rise of a complex, international threat.
Mumbai: The Plot Unfolds, Lashkar Strikes and Investigators Scramble
Sajid Mir, a mysterious Lashkar chief with close ties to Pakistani security forces, American David Coleman Headley to scout hotels and other targets in Mumbai where foreigners are likely to be found. During the attack, Mir's voice is heard on intercepted phone calls urging the gunmen to kill.
The Man Behind Mumbai
U.S. authorities identify a mastermind of plot that killed 166. Whether he will be brought to justice remains uncertain.
Newly Discovered Warnings About Headley Reveal a Troubling Timeline in Mumbai Case
Federal inquiry suggests flawed information-sharing and an overwhelming flow of intelligence kept U.S. investigators from identifying the threat posed by an American terrorist.