It has been six years since journalist Javier Valdez was murdered in a brazen act of violence in downtown Culiacán, Sinaloa. For the past five years, on the anniversary of the crime, journalists and activists around the country have organized events to honor Javier’s legacy. Nowhere are these commemorations more significant than Culiacán, where his deep connection to the community continues to shape how he is remembered.

Over the past two years, 155 U.S. citizens were murdered in Mexico, according to the U.S. State Department records - The kidnapping of four U.S. citizens on March 3 in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, is thus simultaneously a horrific tragedy and perhaps less extraordinary than it appeared.

García Luna's conviction closes a chapter, but there are still more questions than answers about both the past and the future. What does the case tell us about the drug war? What are the implications for the future of US-Mexico security cooperation? Moving beyond the narco-novela stories of cash-filled duffel bags and clandestine meetings, there are four important considerations to understand the significance of the guilty verdict.