Updated

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

Authorities on Wednesday said around 400 people were detained during protests a day earlier that witnesses said were sparked by food shortages.

Following the vandalism, the city's mayor suspended the use of motorcycles for 72 hours.

A wave of lootings and food riots in crisis-hit Venezuela has left at least three people dead in the last week. Around 10 looting incidents are occurring daily across Venezuela, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence.