Maradona death trial: doctor testifies ‘they did CPR on a corpse’

Thursday saw a new hearing in the trial over the death of former Argentine football superstar Diego Maradona.  Giannina, one of Maradona’s daughters with his longtime wife Claudia Villafañe, was expected to give her testimony. However, proceedings were turned on their head when one of the main accused, the former star’s primary medical adviser, Leopoldo Luque, requested to testify instead.  Judges Alberto Ortolani, Alberto Gaig, and Pablo Rolón allowed the intervention, despite protests from the prosecution and Giannina Maradona herself, who later posted an Instagram story with the message: “Se puede ser más cagón?” (“Can you be any more of a coward?”). Luque’s testimony sought to cast doubt on the circumstances surrounding Maradona’s condition at the time of his death and to downplay his own responsibility.  He pointed to an autopsy report stating that the cause of death was “chronic heart failure” that had “worsened due to lack of treatment.” “From 2007 onwards, Diego did not receive any cardiological treatment, and at that time, the doctor treating him was [Maradona’s long-time personal physician Alfredo Cahe], not me.” Cahe passed away in 2024. Luque also criticized the prosecution’s claim that pulmonary edema was evidence of a long agony, insisting instead that it was caused by the prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performed on the former star. “The patient had CPR performed for at least an hour,” he said, insisting the medics kept trying to revive Maradona’s lifeless body “at the family’s request.”  “They did CPR on a corpse,” he stated. You may also be interested in: Maradona death trial: prosecutor calls the accused a ‘group of amateurs’ Luque later focused on his personal relationship with the football legend, saying he bonded with the former star over a shared background story “that caught his attention.” He insisted Maradona was going through “relationship and family problems” and was “drinking too much alcohol.”  “I visited him many times as someone who loves him very much,” he said. “I loved Diego; he was my hero and friend.” Maradona died from an acute pulmonary edema in 2020. The trial centers around the circumstances of his death and the attention he received from his doctors and nurses.  Eight people stand accused of failing to administer proper medical care to Maradona, chiefly Luque as his main medical advisor, as well as his psychiatrist, Agustina Cosachov, and psychologist, Carlos Díaz.  This will be the second time the proceeding goes ahead, after the first court case was declared a mistrial in May 2025.