The European Parliament called on Venezuela Thursday to release opposition members the Parliament claims were “arbitrarily detained” during opposition violence that resulted in 43 deaths last year.

The resolution follows a statement by the U.S. on Monday claiming that Venezuelan government authorities posted an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.” The statement also referred to the arrest of some opposition leaders who encouraged the violence.

In a resolution passed by 384 votes to 75, the European Parliament called on Venezuela’s government to “release all those detained and to end its opposition crackdown.” The Parliament did not call on Venezuela to release security officials who have been arrested for the few deaths they were responsible for, nor did it criticize the human rights violations committed by the opposition leaders, who for 4 months led a campaign to oust democratically-elected President Nicolas Maduro. Right-wing opposition tactics included burning buses and health centers, stopping children from attending school, prohibiting sick people from getting to hospitals, and murdering various people who tried to clear barricades so that they could go to work.

The European Parliament’s statement referred to such actions by the opposition as “peaceful.”

Venezuela’s Ambassador to the EU, Antonio Garcia, told the press that the vote was part of a “broader campaign” against Venezuela and driven by domestic issues in some member states, such as Spain. Recent polls suggest Spain’s Podemos could win upcoming elections with similar anti-austerity politics which brought the left-wing Syriza party to power in Greece in January.

“It is not a secret to anyone that Venezuela is being used in Spain’s internal politics,” Garcia said.

The leader of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias told the press Thursday that he didn’t support the U.S. sanctions and aggressions and said that “dialogue” was a better way to solve “international problems.”

Garcia noted that last time the U.S. imposed sanctions on Venezuelan officials, on Dec. 18, the European Parliament also voted on a resolution against Venezuela. He noted that the same thing has happened again and argued that the U.S. executive order was a “very serious attack on Venezuelan sovereignty.”

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