Venezuela Steps up Military Presence in Town Hit by Looting

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http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/venezuela-steps-military-presence-town-hit-looting-39874961

Venezuelan security forces stepped up their presence in the coastal city of Cumana on Wednesday after more than 20 businesses were violently ransacked in another day of unrest across the crisis-wracked country.

Luis Acuna, the socialist governor of Sucre state, said that more than 400 people, some of them minors, were detained during protests on Tuesday that witnesses said were sparked by food shortages.

Following the vandalism, the city's mayor suspended the use of motorcycles for 72 hours. There were reports that two people were killed during clashes but Acuna said the deaths were unrelated to the disturbances.

A series of lootings and food riots has left at least three people dead in the last week. At least 10 looting incidents, many of them dispersed by tear gas and riot batons, are occurring daily across Venezuela, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence.