Surgeon Rodolfo Benvenuti reveals that Luque falsified the surgical report to appear as the first surgeon in Diego Maradona's last operation

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Falsification of Maradona's operation revealed: doctor Leopoldo Luque at centre of controversy

New revelations shake the trial for the death of Diego Armando Maradona. During Thursday's hearing, surgeon Rodolfo Benvenuti testified that Leopoldo Luque, the Argentinian star's personal doctor, falsified a medical report and falsely claimed to have been the one who performed the last operation on the former footballer.

Benvenuti said he was called by Victor Stinfale, Maradona's lawyer and close friend, to assess whether Luque was fit to operate on the subdural haematoma detected on 3 November 2020, three weeks before the death of ‘El Diez’. According to the testimony, Benvenuti determined that Luque was unfit to carry out the intervention, an opinion also shared by Maradona's daughters.

Tension and manipulation surrounding Maradona's surgery

According to Benvenuti, the tension was at its highest when it was decided that Luque would not operate. He said that there was a strong confrontation between Luque and Stinfale, where the doctor insisted that he wanted to operate on Maradona, claiming that it was ‘the opportunity of a lifetime’. Luque suffered an emotional crisis and burst into tears after learning of the decision.

Subsequently, Stinfale proposed that he appear in the medical report as the first surgeon, although the operation was actually carried out by a team of four doctors led by surgeon Pablo Rubino.

Benvenuti detailed that Luque accepted this condition in order to keep his name associated with the operation, thus generating the falsified report that is now under investigation.

Other key testimonies and more defendants in the trial

In previous hearings, Stinfale confirmed that his intervention in the choice of the medical team was endorsed by Gianinna Maradona, who also distrusted Luque's ability. Stinfale added that he advised Luque not to lie or manipulate the documentation, although in his testimony he did not directly mention the falsification of the report.

In addition to Luque, also facing charges in this trial are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, psychologist Carlos Díaz, doctor Nancy Forlini (Swiss Medical coordinator), doctor Pedro Di Spagna, nurse coordinator Mariano Perroni, and nurse Ricardo Almirón. Gisela Madrid, another of the nurses involved, will be tried by a popular jury.

A trial that could change the future of the defendants

The Oral Criminal Court (TOC) N°3 of San Isidro, composed of judges Maximiliano Savarino, Verónica Di Tommaso and Julieta Makintach, will have to determine whether seven of the eight defendants are responsible for the crime of manslaughter, a crime that can carry up to 25 years in prison.