The high-stakes retrial of the medical team charged in the death of Diego Maradona began in San Isidro on 14 April 2026.

The seven defendants include neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, and psychologist Carlos Díaz.

Prosecutors launched a blistering opening statement, accusing the defendants of “abandoning” the 1986 World Cup hero to a certain death, in what they described as a “theatre of horror.

The prosecution argues that the eight medical professionals knew the home hospitalisation in Tigre was “inadequate” for a patient in Maradona’s condition.

Lead prosecutor Patricio Ferrari stated that the medical team was “ill-prepared” and “did nothing to prevent Maradona from dying”.

A 2021 medical panel had concluded the team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient, and reckless manner”, and forensic experts testified that Maradona suffered through a dying phase lasting up to 12 hours.

Witnesses noted Maradona’s face and abdomen were excessively swollen, a clear sign of the fluid retention that led to his heart failure, and the panel concluded Maradona “would have had a better chance of survival” if treated in an appropriate medical facility instead of the rented house.

Diego Maradona died on 25 November 2020, at age 60, while recovering from emergency surgery to remove a subdural hematoma (blood clot) from his brain.

The cause of death was officially ruled as acute pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs) caused by chronic heart failure. Pathologists found his heart weighed twice the normal amount and that 4.5 liters of water had accumulated in his organs over several days.