Audio reveals psychiatrist’s fear of being investigated over Maradona’s death

Buenos Aires, Feb 2 (efe-epa).- Diego Maradona’s psychiatrist told the late soccer legend’s personal doctor that she feared being investigated over his death, Argentine media revealed on Tuesday.

Psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and the personal physician, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, are the focal point of a probe aimed at determining whether any type of medical negligence contributed to Maradona’s Nov. 25 death and if culpable homicide charges may be warranted.

The Argentine great, who underwent treatment for drug addiction for many years, died at the age of 60 after suffering a heart attack at a house outside Buenos Aires. He had been recovering there after undergoing surgery earlier that month for bleeding between the brain and skull.

“Everything was discussed with the family, everything. Even in the Zoom meetings, the family was there. Everything was discussed with the family, so that also has to give us peace of mind. They were aware of everything. No decisions were ever made without them intervening or giving opinions,” Luque can be heard telling his colleague in leaked private audios published by the Infobae news website.

“You’re right, Leo. Thank God we have the family’s signature even with the hospitalization. We have their backing. We’ll have to wait for them to hector us with other things. You’ve seen how journalists are. It’s their job, but it annoys me how they talk so much garbage,” Cosachov said.

“I know everything we did and stopped doing. I don’t have any qualms, but it bothers me that all this nonsense appears in the media. Other than the media, do you think things could get complicated and we’d have to go testify? People I know are writing me to see if I want criminal law counseling. It seems over the top. Could they give us problems?” she added.

In a text message attributed to Cosachov, she also expressed “cagazo” (fear) that she might be unfairly blamed or punished for medication she prescribed to Maradona.

Luque wrote back, saying there was no cause for concern.

“My attorney, a friend of the family, told me not to worry. If they want to come looking for something, what are they going to look for? Diego was making good progress. It was a coronary event. That needs to be understood. It could happen to anyone. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no way they can come looking for anything. As I see it, there was no (misconduct),” Luque said.

“There’s no cause for reproaching anyone. Not you, not me, not anyone. We did our best with a guy who was practically impossible to talk to, to chat with or make suggestions,” he added.

Separately, a former personal physician of Maradona’s, Dr. Alfredo Cahe, said Tuesday that the soccer great “could have been saved” and criticized the actions of the team overseeing his medical care in his final days.

“I don’t have the slightest doubt that all the actions taken from a medical standpoint were bad, very bad. They gave the impression of not being doctors,” Cahe said in an interview with Argentine pay television channel TN.

“I think he could’ve been saved,” he added, insisting that all of Maradona’s pathologies could’ve been better treated.

“Everything could’ve been treated, the cardiomegaly (enlarged heart) … the psychiatric part could’ve been treated. Everything could’ve been treated,” he said.

Cahe, who was Maradona’s doctor for 30 years, also was critical of choice of house where the soccer legend was placed while recovering from surgery and subsequently died.

The last time Cahe had contact with the 1986 World Cup hero, Napoli legend and joint winner of FIFA’s player of the 20th century award was when he was receiving treatment at a clinic in La Plata, Argentina, where he was able to speak with the members of the medical team.

“A psychologist called me and asked me which medications we’d used to treat Diego during his previous hospitalization. When I gave him the list of medications he went silent and that was the end of the story,” he said.

Cahe said he had contact on one occasion with Luque and did not receive the information he needed.

“I asked Luque three or four things that were important. First, I knew that Diego had (rectal bleeding). I asked him if they’d studied that part, and he didn’t give me a bad answer but he also didn’t give me a good answer. I asked him if he’d operated on Diego or if there was another high-level surgeon, and he didn’t tell me anything, went on talking to me in monosyllables,” the physician recalled. EFE-EPA

sam/mc