408 people arrested in Venezuela after street violence

CARACAS - At least 408 people were arrested Wednesday after violent protests in Venezuela, which saw shops being looted.

Luis Acuna, the governor of Sucre State, called for "calm" in a press conference, after 15 shops along the Panamericana avenue in Cumana, capital of the north-eastern state of Sucre, were looted, including supermarkets, clothes shops and an optician shop.

Acuna said the "violence had left no dead and no injured", although opposition forces said that one man named Cristobal Castaneda had been shot dead.

Nelson Moreno, governor of Anzoategui state, which neighbors Sucre, also announced Wednesday that eight people had been arrested for looting, adding that two of the eight men arrested were known criminals with "a history of homicide, robbery and theft."

"This morning, we called a meeting of the state security apparatus, along with the mayors," said Moreno at a press conference. Moreover, he accused the speaker of National Assembly Henry Ramos Allup of "instigating violence" on social media.

According to opposition sources, the protests took place due to anger at the shortage of food in the South American country.