Sebastian Rotella

Former Intelligence Official: Trump Conflict With Spy Agencies Creates ‘Dangerous Moment’

Matthew Olsen, a senior national security official in both Democratic and Republican administrations, says the ongoing conflict between President-elect Trump and the U.S. intelligence community poses grave risks.

Sebastian Rotella
By Sebastian Rotella
National Counterterrorism Center Dir. Matthew Olsen testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014. (AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

(ANALYSIS) --- The conflict between President-elect Donald Trump and the U.S. intelligence community could have profound repercussions. We spoke recently about the issue to Matthew Olsen, who spent two decades working in senior posts in intelligence and national security for Democrat and Republican administrations. Olsen, 54, served most

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Boston Bombing Suspects Echo Home-Grown Terrorists in Madrid, London Attacks

The FBI interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the elder of the brothers suspected in the Boston bombings, in 2011, two U.S. law enforcement officials told ProPublica Friday evening. The FBI agents conducted the inquiry into suspected extremist or terrorist activity at the request of a Russian security agency, the officials said. “Yes he was interviewed,” a U.S. […]

Sebastian Rotella
By Sebastian Rotella

The FBI interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the elder of the brothers suspected in the Boston bombings, in 2011, two U.S. law enforcement officials told ProPublica Friday evening. The FBI agents conducted the inquiry into suspected extremist or terrorist activity at the request of a Russian security agency, the officials said. “Yes he was

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Terror Group Recruits From Pakistan’s ‘Best and Brightest’

Imagine a terrorist group that recruits tens of thousands of young men from the same neighborhoods and social networks as the Pakistani military. A group whose well-educated recruits defy the idea that poverty and ignorance breed extremism. A group whose fighters include relatives of a politician, a senior Army officer and a director of Pakistan’s […]

Sebastian Rotella
By Sebastian Rotella

Imagine a terrorist group that recruits tens of thousands of young men from the same neighborhoods and social networks as the Pakistani military. A group whose well-educated recruits defy the idea that poverty and ignorance breed extremism. A group whose fighters include relatives of a politician, a senior Army officer and a director of Pakistan's

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How an Accused Guatemalan War Criminal Won US, Canadian Citizenship

In May 1985, a Guatemalan Army lieutenant named Jorge Vinicio Sosa Orantes deserted, flew to San Francisco and requested political asylum, asserting that leftist guerrillas in his war-torn homeland were gunning for him. The 27-year-old officer described his combat exploits in his application for asylum. He said he had served as an instructor in the […]

Sebastian Rotella
By Sebastian Rotella
In this Tuesday, July 10, 2012 photo, a young boy examines his U.S. passport. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

In May 1985, a Guatemalan Army lieutenant named Jorge Vinicio Sosa Orantes deserted, flew to San Francisco and requested political asylum, asserting that leftist guerrillas in his war-torn homeland were gunning for him. The 27-year-old officer described his combat exploits in his application for asylum. He said he had served as an instructor

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Immigration Charges For Accused Commando In Dos Erres Massacre

A former Guatemalan Army lieutenant was extradited Friday from Canada to stand trial in Southern California on federal charges related to the massacre of 250 people in a Guatemalan village in 1982, a case that has resulted in landmark human rights prosecutions in Guatemala and the United States. U.S. federal officers took custody of Jorge […]

Sebastian Rotella
By Sebastian Rotella
Human rights activist Brenda Hernandez, right, wears a mask saying she's portraying Zury Rios Sosa, daughter of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, in Guatemala City, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

A former Guatemalan Army lieutenant was extradited Friday from Canada to stand trial in Southern California on federal charges related to the massacre of 250 people in a Guatemalan village in 1982, a case that has resulted in landmark human rights prosecutions in Guatemala and the United States. U.S. federal officers took custody of Jorge

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Guatemalan Massacre Survivor Wins Political Asylum In US

U.S. immigration authorities have granted political asylum to Oscar Ramírez Castañeda, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who learned only last year that he was a survivor of a civil war massacre of 250 villagers in 1982. Ramírez, a 33-year-old father of four who lives near Boston, received a letter Saturday from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration […]

Sebastian Rotella
By Sebastian Rotella
The Guatemalan flag is shown in Carson, Calif. on June 9, 2007. (Photo by Ruth L. via Flikr)

U.S. immigration authorities have granted political asylum to Oscar Ramírez Castañeda, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who learned only last year that he was a survivor of a civil war massacre of 250 villagers in 1982. Ramírez, a 33-year-old father of four who lives near Boston, received a letter Saturday from U.S. Citizenship and

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US Government Pressures Pakistan On Mumbai Terror Group

The Obama administration’s decision to designate the leadership of Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba group as terrorists this week sends a pointed, if largely symbolic, message to a Pakistani government that remains unable or unwilling to crack down on the extremist organization. On Thursday, the Treasury Department issued an order against eight Lashkar leaders that prohibits Americans from […]

Sebastian Rotella
By Sebastian Rotella
In this Friday, July 6, 2012 photo, Pakistani driver, Ihsanullah, 45, speaks on his mobile phone on top of a truck carrying NATO Humvees at a terminal in the Pakistani-Afghan border, in Chaman, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Matiullah Achakzai)

The Obama administration's decision to designate the leadership of Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Taiba group as terrorists this week sends a pointed, if largely symbolic, message to a Pakistani government that remains unable or unwilling to crack down on the extremist organization. On Thursday, the Treasury Department issued an order against eight

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