John Lantigua is a veteran journalist who has reported both in the U.S. and from many foreign countries, especially in Latin America. Based in Central America in the 1980s–predominantly in Nicaragua-he reported for United Press International, The Washington Post and Newsweek. He came to Florida in 1993 and wrote for The Miami Herald from 1993-98 as a general assignment reporter, specializing in coverage of minority communities. From 1999-2002, he freelanced for national magazines, covering the Elian Gonzalez saga for Salon, the Bush-Gore election drama for The Nation, and the presence of the 9/11 terrorists in South Florida for Newsweek. From 2002-15, he was a reporter for The Palm Beach Post based in Miami, covering national and international issues. Immigration was a major focus of his reporting, but he also wrote about voting rights, LGBT rights and criminal justice.
While at The Miami Herald, he shared the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for work on the contested Miami mayoral election of 1997. At The Palm Beach Post, he won the Robert Kennedy Journalism Award and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Prize for Investigative Reporting in both 2004 and 2006 for reporting related to the immigration issue, and the World Hunger Year Media Award in 2004 for that same work.
He lives in Miami Beach.
