A drug lord who had taken control of a prison in a shootout that left 18 people dead surrendered Thursday after a two-week standoff and was removed by federal officials.
The drug lord, Oliverio Chavez Araujo, and one of his followers were flown to Mexico City early Thursday aboard a jet from the federal attorney general's office.Chavez was wounded in the shootout and could not talk because he was shot in the face with a .44 Magnum pistol.
The prison standoff had embarrassed the Mexican government by turning a public spotlight on something authorities had long known - that Chavez was running his drug empire from behind bars and was in virtual control of the prison.