BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — While Spain mourns the death of a soccer player who suffered a cardiac arrest after an on-field collision, the emergency medical treatment he received is falling under scrutiny.
Tenerife forward Jesús de Miguel died Tuesday, a day after absorbing a heavy hit by the opposing team’s goalkeeper during a match in Spain’s second division and being rushed to a hospital.
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Atletico's players observe a moment of silence for late Tenerife's player Jesus De Miguel before the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
FC Tenerife forward Jesús de Miguel, left, duels for the ball during a soccer match against Andorra in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo)
Flowers and messages are left outside the Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez Stadium in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, on Wednesday, Nov 4, 2026, in memory of the late Tenerife soccer player Jesus de Miguel. (Europa Press via AP)
A screen shows a portrait of late Tenerife's player Jesus De Miguel before the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Spain’s National Police opened an investigation into possible involuntary manslaughter — a standard procedure for a non-natural death. Investigators are expected to assess whether Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono’s challenge went beyond the normal course of play.
But the incident also raised questions about the on-field treatment the 30-year-old player received after collapsing on the pitch Monday, including how quickly CPR was performed and whether medics used a defibrillator.
Elvira González, the president of Spain’s Association of Nurses, Emergency Medics and Caregivers, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that her organization was seeking more information.
“We can’t say if they acted correctly or incorrectly, but we can demand that all the emergency procedures follow international standards of correct practice,” González said.
Team medical staff was at his side 20 seconds after De Miguel collapsed after being crunched in mid-air by Owono while disputing a high ball late in the game. Emergency workers quickly followed, running a stretcher to the scene in less than a minute.
It is unclear what medical attention De Miguel received during the 5 minutes he was prone on the pitch before being rushed off on a stretcher and placed in an ambulance waiting just off the field.
Some Spanish media reported that he received CPR in the ambulance and recovered a pulse, while others say he received CPR on the field. It has not been established whether a defibrillator was used.
The Tenerife soccer club did not answer repeated calls and an email request asking for more information about the emergency treatment De Miguel received.
“There is contradictory information,” González said. “The first thing we need to know is where and when he supposedly recovered a pulse.”
She said CPR must be performed from “minute 1” and that using a defibrillator is crucial.
“The first minutes are critical. You can only move a person once a pulse is restored,” she said.
On-field treatment proved lifesaving for other athletes who collapsed on the field of play including Danish soccer player Christian Eriksen, whose heart stopped during a European Championship game in 2021. In the NFL, Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills was treated with CPR and defibrillator on the field after he suffered cardiac arrest in 2023. Both survived.
Some local media say that the police probe is also looking into the immediate medical treatment De Miguel received at Tenerife’s stadium. The National Police in Madrid and in Tenerife would not comment on that to AP.
Tenerife’s largest shareholder Rayco García acknowledged there is still much to be clarified.
“There are those who say that the impact caused his death, and that later they were able to stabilize him artificially even though it was very difficult to bring him back,” García told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser on Tuesday. “I prefer to wait for the autopsy and then we can take steps and talk about what needs talking about.”
He said the medical team followed protocol and “were fast to get on the field.”
But, García added, “I would like to know through the investigation if there is something we don’t know so that this doesn’t happen again. If there is something that was in our hands to do that could have prevented this tragedy.”
When asked why the ambulance didn’t enter the field to help evacuate De Miguel, García said the club’s medical service didn’t order it to approach.
The Spanish soccer federation regulations say that the home team must have at least one doctor on site, and that the home club must have an ambulance equipped with life support, including a defibrillator, at the ready.
La Liga did not respond to request for comment on emergency protocols.
De Miguel's death stunned the soccer community in Spain and beyond. Teams across Europe paid tribute to De Miguel before Champions League games on Tuesday.
Fans left flowers in a makeshift shrine outside Tenerife’s stadium.
Owono issued a statement through his club on Wednesday, offering his condolences to De Miguel’s family.
“These are the most difficult days of my life,” the goalkeeper said. “I feel an immense pain over the loss of Jesús. I think of him, his family, and everyone who loved him. I know there will be many matters to address, and I will face whatever comes with the utmost respect.”
De Miguel is survived by his wife and 1-year-old daughter who were at Monday’s game. His parents quickly flew to Tenerife, which is part of the Canary Islands archipelago.
The team will travel to the mainland to attend a funeral for De Miguel that García says tentatively will be Thursday in the central province of Toledo.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
Atletico's players observe a moment of silence for late Tenerife's player Jesus De Miguel before the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
FC Tenerife forward Jesús de Miguel, left, duels for the ball during a soccer match against Andorra in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo)
Flowers and messages are left outside the Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez Stadium in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, on Wednesday, Nov 4, 2026, in memory of the late Tenerife soccer player Jesus de Miguel. (Europa Press via AP)
A screen shows a portrait of late Tenerife's player Jesus De Miguel before the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The midterm election blowout delivered a new era in Washington, with Democrats in Congress eager to meet voter demands for change while Republicans watched their majorities evaporate after a revolt against President Donald Trump and his party in power.
Democrats ousted Republicans from coast to coast, with many surprising places in between, in a decisive rejection of unified GOP control for the promise of something different for the country. Their majorities will be padded by unusually wide margins in both the House and the Senate.
The staggering results are setting up a starkly divided government, with an emboldened Congress poised to reassert itself as a coequal branch when Democrats take over in the new year. They are ready to launch a 100-day agenda to lower the costs of gas, groceries and healthcare and conduct vast oversight and investigations into Trump and his administration, with impeachment an option.
“We hear you,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who would make history as the first Black speaker of the House if his colleagues elect him to the job when the new Congress begins on Jan. 3, 2027.
Jeffries called the election a “stunning rebuke of MAGA extremism” and “a great victory for the American people.”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer acknowledged the political reality that voters may have been more willing to reject Trump's party than to embrace the Democrats.
“Many of the folks who voted for us yesterday are still skeptical, and that’s OK,” the New York senator said Wednesday at the Capitol.
He said the history-making scale of his party's wins — picking up long-shot Senate seats in South Carolina, Texas and Kansas — creates “the opportunity to prove ourselves worthy of their trust.”
All told, the results present a fundamental reshaping of power in Washington, with new openings and challenges for governing. The tally was bewildering for the scope of Democratic gains and the depth of Republican losses, which indiscriminately wiped out GOP firebrands, moderates and veteran conservatives nationwide. The swelling majorities, with some races still too early to call, underlined a deep sense of voter anger and concern over the economy and the state of democracy.
Trump acknowledged the Iran war impacted the midterm elections, suggesting voters were frustrated by surging gas prices that have been a byproduct of the 8-month-old conflict.
“The Iran thing we had to do, and we continue to do it,” Trump told reporters.
Earlier, he struck a conciliatory tone, suggesting he could work with the Democrats, but he also warned of gridlock ahead as he threatened to use the power of the presidential veto to strike down their agenda.
"I don't want to be just sitting there for two years vetoing everything," he told Politico.
But the fallout for Republicans was raw and was only beginning.
Vice President JD Vance, often eyed as Trump's likely successor at the White House, blamed the president's war in Iran for Republicans' midterm wipeout.
House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana will not seek reelection as House Republican leader, according to two people familiar with his decision, setting up a potentially brutal leadership battle following the party's trouncing by the Democrats. The people who told The Associated Press about Johnson’s decision insisted on anonymity to disclose it.
House Democrats are planning to quickly launch efforts to reverse Trump's GOP cuts to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid healthcare programs. They're also ready to dive into a robust oversight agenda to, as Jeffries says, “hold the crooks accountable.”
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, issued a one-sentence warning: “Lawyer up.”
Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, issued his own one-word missive: "Subpoenas."
Democrats will be under pressure to quickly show that they have solutions for voters' anger and frustration over high prices, the war in Iran and unease about the direction of the country. About 7 in 10 voters nationally say Congress is not doing enough to provide checks and balances on the presidency, according to The AP Voter Poll.
For Jeffries and his leadership team, it will be their first time in the majority, managing a class of newcomers including a handful of far-left democratic socialists.
With the majority in the 435-member House growing well past the 218 needed and the Senate Democrats holding at least 54 of 100 seats in that chamber, Jeffries and Schumer will have room to maneuver.
For Republicans, their shriveled numbers quickly launched a reckoning of their own, as they try to figure out what went so uniformly wrong.
In a lengthy online post, the vice president seemingly sought to distance himself from election results seen as a referendum on Trump that featured big Republican losses across the country.
“The reason we lost is the war,” Vance wrote, adding, “If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest.”
Republicans may be anxious during the post-election lame-duck sprint to accomplish as much as possible in their remaining weeks in power. But hopes for another GOP-only priority package like their big tax breaks and spending cuts bill seem dim as defeated lawmakers prepare to go home at the end of the year.
Conservatives have also eyed the opportunity for Trump to nominate more judges or even a justice to the Supreme Court while Senate Republicans still hold a majority to confirm the picks.
And the government could be headed toward a federal shutdown next month if Congress fails to pass a funding bill to keep operations running.
In the weeks ahead, the parties will hold internal leadership elections.
Johnson will stay on as a rank-and-file lawmaker in the new Congress, but rivals are lining up to replace him as GOP leader.
Jeffries will seek to shore up support as Democratic leader, before the House chooses its speaker as one of the first votes when the new Congress convenes.
In the Senate, Schumer faces a new generation of Democrats including some who have yet to support him as majority leader.
Rarely has the president’s party held on to power during midterm elections, but the Democratic tsunami carried echoes of Trump’s first term, when Republicans faced a voter revolt that sent Democrats to the House majority, and the Barack Obama era, when the Republican tea party swept to power.
This new Congress will also mark firsts and welcome trailblazers.
With the election of Democrat Julia Stratton of Illinois, the Senate will for the first time have three Black women in office.
Democrat Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota will be the first Native American female senator, Chris Pappas of New Hampshire will become the first openly gay male U.S. senator and Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan will be the first Muslim to serve in the U.S. Senate.
Associated Press writers Tom Beaumont, Joey Cappelletti, Jill Colvin, Kevin Freking, Mary Clare Jalonick and Will Weissert contributed to this report.
Follow the AP's coverage of the 2026 elections at https://apnews.com/hub/elections.
Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., speaks at a news conference in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, as Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., chair of the House Democratic Caucus, from left, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who is poised to become speaker of the House, Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., the House minority whip, and Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, listen. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who is poised to become speaker of the House, speaks at a news conference in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., looks on as President Donald Trump speaks with reporters, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, at Dubuque Regional Airport in Dubuque, Iowa, en route to a campaign rally. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., the House minority whip, from left, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., hold hands during a watch party at a hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee office, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks during a watch party at a hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., holds his handwritten speech at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee office, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
The sun rises behind the U.S. Capitol, as seen reflected in the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool, on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
