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'Free El Chapo': Mexicans March for Jailed Drug Lord

<p>"We respect El Chapo more than any elected official," sign says.</p>
Image: Young women wear headbands featuring the name of Chapo Guzman during a march in Culiacan
Young women march in support of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman in Culiacan on Feb. 26.DANIEL BECERRIL / Reuters

More than a thousand people marched in support of captured Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in the capital of his home state on Wednesday, calling for his freedom.

The largely young crowd, many dressed in white, bore signs that read "We want Chapo Freed" and "We demand no extradition" as they filed across the center of Culiacan, in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, to a church on a palm tree-lined plaza.

Image: A protester holds a sign reading, "We want Chapo free" during a march in Culiacan
A protester holds a sign reading "We want Chapo free" during a march in Culiacan on Feb. 26. Guzman was captured on Saturday in a predawn raid in Mazatlan, around 125 miles southeast of Culiacan.DANIEL BECERRIL / Reuters

Some in the crowd credited Guzman and his gang for keeping the city free of the extortions and kidnappings that plague other parts of Mexico, where rival gangs reign. One printed sign said: "We respect El Chapo more than any elected official."

— Reuters

Image: A brass band plays songs known to be favorites of Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman during a march in Culiacan
A brass band played songs known to be favorites of Joaquin Guzman.DANIEL BECERRIL / Reuters