People demonstrate in favor of the drug trafficking organization “La Familia” and its late leader Nazario Moreno Gonzalez in Apatzingan, Mexico, Sunday Dec. 12, 2010. Moreno was killed on Thursday in Apatzingan during two days of shootouts between gunmen and federal police, according to the government.

Moreno was killed in Apatzingan on Thursday in a shootout with federal police. Cartel gunmen used torched cars and buses to blockade highways. At least 11 other people were killed, including a baby and a teenage girl. The Apatzingan government convoked the march, demanding that federal troops and police leave the city. One man held up a sign that said: “Nazario will always live in our hearts.” A boy in a checkered shirt held another saying “Mr. Nazario, for students your ideals live on.” A little girl in pigtails held a sign reading “La Familia Michoacana is more than one state.” A woman held one high over her head proclaiming: “Long live La Familia Michoacana.” It was the second straight day that Apatzingan residents took to the streets to show support for Moreno. On Saturday night, hundreds marched with similar signs. Also on Sunday, banners were hung from bridges in Petacalco, a town in southern Michoacan state, reading: “We support La Familia Michoacana. We will always remember Nazario Moreno. More than 28,000 people have died in drug gang-related violence since late 2006. Reputed No. 2, Servando Gomez Martinez, who remains at large. Moreno “erected himself as ‘the Messiah,’ using the Bible to preach to the poor, uneducated. Moreno burst into view in 2006 by rolling five seere heads into a nightclub in Uruapan.