Thousands of people in Nicaragua have been evacuated from their homes as Hurricane Beta neared Central America’s Caribbean coast early today, pounding the mainland with heavy rains and high winds.

Explosions at a makeshift prison for gang members launched near-simultaneous attacks at seven lockups across Guatemala, killing 31 people and displaying the organisational power of Central America’s gangs.

A strong earthquake off of Honduras’s Caribbean coast shook the mainland but caused no reported damage.