Blancornelas has a dangerous job: He has repeatedly reported on the dealings of Tijuana's powerful drug cartel. The cartel, headed by the brothers Benjamin, Ramon and Francisco Javier Arellano Felix, controls cocaine smuggling from Mexico's Baja to California state in the United States. According to Zeta, local politicians and police chiefs cooperate with the cartel.

``The assassination attempt against me was never cleared up, but we believe the killers were cartel gunmen,'' Blancornelas told Deutsche Presse Agenteur.

Tijuana has one of the most booming local economies in Mexico thanks to its location nearthe US border and the metropolitan areas of San Diego and Los Angeles. But in addition to enjoying the fruits of tourism and a low-wage manufacturing industry the region has also been cursed with a high crime rate.

The Arellano Felix brothers take merciless action against any drug dealer that tries to establish himself in their territory. More than 100 people were killed in gang warfare in Tijuana last year.

At least they are just killing one another, local businessmen say, when asked about the violence. In fact, regular crime rates are much lower in Tijuana than they are in Mexico City. But Blancornelas is not the only person to find out just what it means to defy the drug traffickers and threaten their interests. Several leading police officers, who took their jobs seriously and refused to be bribed, have been murdered in recent years.

There are signs that many law enforcement officers are corrupt and have been bought by organised crime. ``It really is strange that the Arellano Felix brothers have notbeen arrested either in the United States or in Mexico, even though everyone knows who they are,'' says Blancornelas.

Victor Clark, director of the Binational Centre for Human Rights, has shown how pervasive police corruption is in Tijuana. Clark has proved that Justice Department police badges have been sold to Tijuana cartel members for between $ 8,000 and 10,000 piece.

Ever since the assassination attempt, Blancornelas has received army protection. Now he divides his time between home and office and wears a bulletproof vest whenever he steps outside. ``My freedom of movement is very restricted. I can't eat out in a restaurant, can't go to the movies, can't go anywhere,'' he complains. However, he does not want to leave Tijuana. ``That's exactly what they want. I want to prove that journalists are not afraid,'' Blancornelas says.