TIJUANA, Mexico, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Mexican journalist Jesus Blancornelas, famed for campaigning against violent drug gangs, died in hospital on Thursday from natural causes, his newspaper said.

Co-founder of award-winning Zeta newspaper in the violent city of Tijuana on the U.S. border, Blancornelas, 70, barely survived an attack in 1997 by drug gang hit men armed with assault rifles.

He lived with armed guards around the clock after the attack. The Los Angeles Press Club awarded him the Daniel Pearl Award for courageous journalism in 2005.

Newspaper officials said Blancornelas suffered from diabetes, which became worse after he was badly injured in the 1997 shooting.

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