Polish leader Tusk appeals for unity as Netherlands marks 80th anniversary of WWII liberation

WAGENINGEN, Netherlands (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk made an impassioned plea for European and transatlantic unity Monday in a speech marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands from World War II German occupation.

“The experience gained 80 years ago tells us that only when (we) stand together can we overcome," Tusk said.

He added that "in the face of the threat posed by (President Vladimir) Putin’s Russia we need to deepen our European and transatlantic life, and we need genuine solidarity.”

Tusk spoke at a Dutch Liberation Day ceremony where WWII veterans were given a standing ovation by crowds who lined streets to watch a military parade as modern and wartime aircraft flew overhead. Polish troops were among Allied forces who helped liberate the Netherlands.

Festivities in Wageningen centered on a square outside the Hotel de Wereld, where German top brass signed papers on May 5, 1945, that formally ended the brutal five-year occupation as the war drew to a close across Europe.

A small group of veterans, their chests decorated with medals and legs covered in blankets, sat on the front row watching the ceremony. More veterans took part in the parade, some saluting, others blowing kisses to the crowds. Some held tulips and other flowers.

Germany finally surrendered on May 8, now known as Victory in Europe Day.

Liberation Day in the Netherlands is celebrated on May 5, a day after the country observes two minutes of silence to honor its war dead.

Like Tusk, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans used the occasion to call for renewed efforts to nurture peace.

“War and aggression are back in Europe and it is up to us to protect peace,” he said.

Brekelmans' speech was briefly disturbed by a small group of protesters who shouted “Free free Palestine!” Police detained five people as Brekelmans continued to address the crowd, some of whom booed at the demonstrators as they were led away.

Later Monday, a smoke canister was thrown onto a festival stage in Wageningen where Tusk and his Dutch counterpart Dick Schoof were standing. There no immediate reports of arrests.

On Sunday, Dutch King Willem-Alexander and others laid wreaths at the national monument in Amsterdam, and two veterans lit a Liberation Fire in Wageningen hours later.

Mervyn Kersh, a 100-year-old veteran from Britain, and Nick Janicki, 101, from Canada, ignited the flame in Wageningen's central May 5 Square.

The country's southern regions were freed in 1944 but the populous western towns and cities had to wait months and endure a devastating famine known as the Hunger Winter that killed thousands.

Events across Europe marking the end of the 1939-45 war come as the traditional friendly links with the United States, whose forces helped liberate the Netherlands and much of the continent, are fraying. The European Union and the administration of President Donald Trump are now embroiled in a trade war.

Tusk appealed for unity at a time of global insecurity.

“Genuine solidarity between people and nations that will prevent the evil from shaping our present and future," he said. "The time of Europe’s carefree comfort, joyous unconcern is over. Today is the time of European mobilization around our fundamental values and our security.”

A British World War II veteran of the HMS Crane takes part in a Liberation Day parade in Wageningen, Netherlands, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Canadian World War II veterans take part in a Liberation Day parade in Wageningen, Netherlands, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

People wave as dozens of World War II veterans take part in a Liberation Day parade in Wageningen, Netherlands, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Canadian World War II veterans take part in a parade to mark Liberation Day in Wageningen, Netherlands, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dozens of World War II veterans take part in a parade to mark Liberation Day in Wageningen, Netherlands, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dozens of World War II veterans take part in a parade marking Liberation Day in Wageningen, Netherlands, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Canadian World War II veterans take part in a parade to mark Liberation Day in Wageningen, Netherlands, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Police arrests a pro-Palestine demonstrator as dozens of World War II veterans gathered for Liberation Day celebrations in Wageningen, Netherlands, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch police silence a pro-Palestine demonstrator shouting slogans as dozens of World War II veterans gathered for Liberation Day celebrations in Wageningen, Netherlands, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Police arrests a pro-Palestine demonstrator as dozens of World War II veterans gathered for Liberation Day celebrations in Wageningen, Netherlands, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, center left, is greeted by Netherlands' Prime Minister Dick Schoof, center right, as dozens of World War II veterans gathered for Liberation Day celebrations in Wageningen, Netherlands, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, left, leave after laying a wreath during a solemn annual national service to commemorate the war dead in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima leave after laying a wreath during a solemn annual national service to commemorate the war dead in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Netherlands' Prime Minister Dick Schoof lays a wreath during a solemn annual national service to commemorate the war dead in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

GUANARE, Venezuela (AP) — Freedom came too late for Edilson Torres.

The police officer was buried Tuesday in his humble, rural hometown following his death in a Venezuelan prison, where he was held incommunicado since being detained in December on what his family said were politically motivated accusations.

Torres, 51, died of a heart attack Saturday, just as his family awaited the government's promised release of prisoners following the U.S. capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro. The loss left his family reeling.

Now scores of families — who once hesitated to approach advocacy groups — are coming forward to register their loved ones as “political prisoners" in the hope that they might have a more optimistic future than Torres.

Foro Penal, which tracks and advocates for Venezuelan prisoners, has received a “flood of messages” from families since last week, said Alfredo Romero, director of the nongovernmental organization.

“They didn’t report it out of fear, and now they’re doing it because, in a way, they feel that there is this possibility that their families will be freed,” Romero said. “They see it as hope, but more importantly, as an opportunity.”

The head of Venezuela’s national assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, said last week that a “significant number” of Venezuelan and foreigners imprisoned in the country would be released as a gesture to “seek peace” following the operation that captured Maduro in the early hours of Jan. 3. The U.S. and Venezuela's opposition have long demanded the widespread release of detained opposition figures, activists and journalists, whom they claim are used as a political tool by the ruling party.

Venezuela’s government denies that there are prisoners unjustly detained, accusing them of plotting to destabilize Maduro’s government.

Following Torres' death, Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a statement that the case had been assigned to a terrorism unit and “was linked to criminal activities detected by state security agencies.” He did not offer any details, but the vague language tracks with past accusations leveled against real or perceived government critics.

Romero said that of the roughly 300 families who reached out to Foro Penal, about 100 cases so far have been confirmed as politically motivated. Most of those reported over the past few days, he said, once worked for Venezuela's military. That is on top of more than 800 people that the organization says continue to be detained for political reasons in Venezuela.

As of Tuesday evening, Foro Penal had confirmed 56 prisoners it said were detained for political reasons had been freed. The group criticized the lack of government transparency over the releases. Venezuela’s government negated the organization's count, and reported a far higher figure of 400 Tuesday afternoon.

But the government did not provide evidence of the releases, a time range in which they were carried out nor identify those freed, making it impossible to determine whether those freed were behind bars for political or other reasons.

Before Torres' funeral on Tuesday, a procession of cars and motorcycles stopped at a local jail, where his wife remains detained on disputed accusations.

“My little brother, my little brother,” Emelyn Torres said between sobs after his casket, cloaked in Venezuela's flag, arrived at her home for the wake. A few feet away, their grandmother nearly fainted as dozens of people crammed into the living room to pay their respects.

Hours earlier, as a minivan transported the body of her brother 267 miles (430 kilometers) from the capital, Caracas, to Guanare, Torres learned that other men linked to the WhatsApp group that led to her brother's arrest had just been released from prison. She wailed.

Among those who have been released are: human rights attorney Rocío San Miguel, who immediately relocated to Spain; Biagio Pilieri, an opposition leader who was part of Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado’s 2024 presidential campaign; and Enrique Márquez, a former electoral authority and presidential candidate.

Italian businessman Marco Burlò, who was released from prison Monday, told reporters outside a Rome airport Tuesday that he was kept isolated throughout his detention, which he characterized as a “pure and real kidnapping.”

“I can’t say that I was physically abused, but without being able to talk to our children, without the right to defense, without being able to speak to the lawyer, completely isolated, here they thought that I might have died,” he said.

The small set of releases over the past few days continues to fuel criticisms by families, human rights watchdogs at the United Nations and U.S. politicians, who have accused the government of not following through on their word of a wider release.

But the rapid political shifts in the Latin American nation and the distant possibility of release simultaneously marked a rare moment of hope for many families who have spent years wondering if their loved ones would ever be freed.

Part of the reason that Romero said he believed so many people had not come forward is the government's ongoing crackdown on dissent since Venezuela's tumultuous 2024 election, which Maduro claimed to have won despite ample credible evidence to the contrary.

As mass street protests broke out, authorities said they detained more than 2,000 people. In the month after July elections, Venezuela's government passed a law — dubbed the “anti-NGO law” by critics — making it easier for the government to criminalize human rights groups.

That had a chilling effect, Romero said, making families hesitant to come forward — until now.

Janetsky reported from Mexico City.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Relatives of political prisoners gather at the Central University of Venezuela to call for their release in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Jacklin Ibarreto, whose father Miguel Ibarreto is detained, lays out photos of political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Members of a motorcycle club, friends of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, carry his coffin at a cemetery in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Relatives stand by the coffin of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026.. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Relatives of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, gather around his grave during his funeral in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Students lay out photos of people they consider political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Jacklin Ibarreto, whose father Miguel Ibarreto is detained, waits outside the Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Relatives and friends of political prisoners hold candles calling for their loved ones to be set free outside the Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 after the government announced prisoners would be released. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Relatives stand beside the coffin during the wake of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

El Helicoide, the headquarters of Venezuela's intelligence service and detention center, stands in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Students lay out photos of people they consider political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Flor Zambrano, whose son, Rene Chourio, she says is detained at Zone 7 of the Bolivarian National Police for political reasons, embraces relatives of other detainees outside the facility in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A photo of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, and his family adorns his coffin during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Relatives of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, sit by his coffin during his wake in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Emelyn Torres leans over the casket of her brother, Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being detained on accusations of treason, during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Emelyn Torres and Maria Cristina Fernandez, the sister and grandmother of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison after being detained on accusations of treason, embrace during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)