Blancornelas, Jesus

▪ 2007

      Mexican journalist (b. Nov. 14, 1936, San Luis Potosí, Mex.—d. Nov. 23, 2006, Tijuana, Mex.), was the trailblazing cofounder (1980; with Héctor Félix Miranda) of the Tijuana-based Zeta newsweekly, which featured exposés of corruption, organized crime, and drug-trafficking cartels. His seering reportage won him numerous international awards, including the 1999 World Press Freedom Prize and the 2005 Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism, but also resulted in a 1997 assassination attempt in which he was severely wounded. In 1988 Miranda was murdered, and in 2004 Francisco Ortiz Franco, another writer for the magazine, was killed. Blancornelas continued to investigate the latter's death until illness forced him to curtail his search. During the last years of his life, Blancornelas was guarded by 15 armed soldiers provided by the government.

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