U.S. soldier may be charged in shooting of Italian agent

December 23, 2005

On December 22, 2005 the special prosecutors of the Roman Magistrate's service announced that they were considering charging U.S. soldier Mario Lozano with manslaughter.

Lozano shot and killed Major General Nicola Calipari during a disputed incident at BP 541, a blocking position for a mobile roadblock located behind a ninety-degree turn on the ramp that joined Route Vernon to Route Irish (the road between the heavily fortified Green Zone and the Baghdad International Airport). Some international observers claim that if Lozano is charged, relations between the Italian government and the United States government will deteriorate, because the US government prefers to have immunity from criminal prosecution for its soldiers carrying out military actions around the world.