Maradona's former doctor declares innocence in death trial, citing love for the football icon

Luque, one of seven healthcare professionals on trial for "homicide with eventual intent" due to alleged negligence, stated, "I cared a lot for him, I loved him, he was my idol and my friend." Maradona died at 60 from cardiorespiratory arrest and pulmonary edema while recovering from neurosurgery for a head hematoma. The prosecution claims Maradona's convalescence was "cruel, summary, deprived of everything" and that the medical team ignored warnings, abandoning him.

Luque, however, maintained that Maradona's death was natural and inevitable, citing an autopsy diagnosis of chronic heart failure exacerbated by lack of treatment and associated with toxic substances. He disputed the 12-hour agony scenario presented by forensic doctors, suggesting the pulmonary edema could have resulted from attempts to resuscitate a corpse. Luque clarified his role as a neurosurgeon, not a clinical doctor or psychiatrist, and noted he was not Maradona's doctor when the star stopped receiving cardiac treatment in 2007.

He also addressed his close relationship with Maradona, explaining he often visited him as a friend. While acknowledging that home convalescence was the "only option" given the family's refusal to forcibly institutionalize Maradona, Luque distanced himself from the decisio