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Subscribe to RSSFounder of McAfee security software John McAfee emerged from hiding in Guatemala where he plans to seek asylum. McAfee claims he is being persecuted by police in Belize where he is considered a person of interest in the killing of another American.
U.S. anti-virus software guru John McAfee, who is on the run from police in Belize seeking to question him in a murder probe, has turned up in Guatemala City to ask for political asylum.
He said he is being targeted by authorities in Belize because he refuses to give money to its government.
McAfee has been in hiding for three weeks since police in Belize said they wanted to question him as "a person of interest" about the murder of fellow American Gregory Faull, with whom McAfee had quarreled.
McAfee smuggled himself and his girlfriend, who he calls Samantha, across the porous land border that Belize shares with Guatemala. He stayed at a hotel in a national park before heading for Guatemala City on Monday evening.
"I have no plans much for the future now. The reason I chose Guatemala is two-fold," McAfee told Reuters by telephone from Guatemala's Supreme Court, flanked by his lawyer, former attorney general and lawyer Telesforo Guerra.
"It is a country bordering Belize, it is a country that understands the corruption within Belize and most importantly, the former attorney general of the country is Samantha's uncle and I knew that he would assist us with legal proceedings."
McAfee has denied involvement in the murder and told Reuters on Monday he would not turn himself in. He posted repeatedly on his blog while on the run, describing how he would constantly change his disguise to elude capture.
He is traveling with a photographer from Vice magazine, which revealed his location by posting a photo of the two together under the headline, “We are with John McAfee right now, suckers.”
In his latest blog post, McAfee wrote:
I apologize for all of the misdirections over the past few days. It was not easy to exit Belize and required many supporters in many countries. I am in Guatemala and will be meeting with Guatemalan officials this morning. If all goes well I will do a press conference tomorrow.
Vice Magazine reporters are indeed with me in Guatemala. Yesterday was chaotic due to the accidental release of my exact co-ordinates by an unseasoned technician at Vice headquarters. We made it to safety in spite of this handicap. I had to cancel numerous interviews with the press yesterday because of this and I apologize to all of those affected.
On Tuesday, McAfee appeared with his hair and goatee died black, and wearing a dark suit and tie - a far cry from the surfer-style blonde hair highlights, shorts and tribal-tattooed bare shoulders he sported in Belize.
"(Guerra) is now attempting to get political asylum for myself and for Sam. I don't think there will be much of a problem. From here I can speak freely and safely," McAfee said.
'Bonkers'
McAfee says he believes authorities in Belize would kill him if he turned himself in for questioning. Belize's prime minister has denied the claim and called the 67-year-old paranoid and "bonkers."
On the Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye, where McAfee has lived for about four years, residents say he is eccentric, impulsive, erratic and at times unstable, with a penchant for guns and young women.
He would often be seen with armed bodyguards, pistols tucked into his belt, and McAfee's neighbor had complained about the loud barking of dogs that guarded his exclusive beachside compound.
His run-in with authorities in Belize is a world away from a successful life in the United States, where he started McAfee Associates in 1989 and made millions of dollars developing the Internet anti-virus software that carries his name.
There was already a case against McAfee in Belize for possession of illegal firearms, and police had previously raided his property on suspicion he was running a lab to make illegal synthetic narcotics.
McAfee says he has been persecuted for refusing to donate money to politicians, that he loves Belize, and considers it his home.
Guatemala is a canny choice to seek refuge. It has long been embroiled in a territorial dispute with Belize. Guatemala claims the southern half of Belize and all of its islands, or cayes, rightfully belong to it. There is no extradition treaty between the two countries.
A Guatemalan government source said there was "no reason" to detain McAfee because there was no legal case against him pending in the country.
Harold Caballeros, Guatemala's foreign minister, said his government was unaware of any arrest warrant and would study McAfee's asylum request once presented, saying its success would "depend on the arguments."
Guerra told Reuters McAfee would return to Belize once his situation in Guatemala was made legal, citing the fact he had crossed into the country illegally to avoid capture by police in Belize.
"He can go to the United States, there is no problem with that," he added. "We have asked the U.S. embassy for support with our (asylum) request."
He said the asylum request would be formally presented on Wednesday.
The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City said in a statement McAfee would have to work within the country's legal framework, but declined to elaborate. "The embassy does not comment on the actions of American citizens, due to privacy considerations."
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lt will be nice to finally hear the other side of the story, even if the software is bad...
McAfee was sold to Intel in 2010 for 7.6 billion! So he no longer is involved except that it has his name. He supposedly only has about 4 million dollars now personally, from a peak of 100 million.
We need to get rid of this virus.
ahole--Just tune in to Fux. I'm sure they'll have all the info. that your teeny, tiny brain can handle. It would be terrible if you actually had to type all those letters into your Google search field.
By the way, Belize is a tropical paradise with a very limited tax structure and this guy is (or was) very wealthy. Maybe, just maybe, THAT is why he went to Belize. But hey, don't strain yourself.
He's a sociopath that has successfully got everyone's attention off the murder for which he is the only suspect. Dont believe a word out of his bath salt taking mouth. Everything is a lie with him , or as he puts it , a misdirection.
What to more about Mcafee? - google" Hello and MDPV question". He is the poster known as stuffmonger
@bluelake, You seem to be as big a d-bag as McAfee. Have a nice @!$%#ing day, @!$%#.
bluelake - Feel free to GFY. Your comments toward aholeboma have no place on this thread. Keep your little thoughts where they belong, to yourself.
Gotta give bluelake a break because he is an Obama supporter and his little tantrum on aholeboma was simply because he couldn't handle that name. @bluelake, calm the eff down. @aholeboma, love the name!!!
aholeboma is just another low-information rube, who is highly unlikely to think anything that Faux News didn't feed him. But thanks for playing!
Tetrapoda, you're an idiot. Plain and simple. You have no idea what you're talking about, and you sure as hell don't know what news source aholeboma gets his information from. If anything we can conclude it's left leaning MSN. Not to mention his post had nothing to do with anything political. You're welcome for playing. Now go play somewhere more suitable for someone such as yourself, perhaps the sand box or jungle gym.
I was hoping for a litttle more clevernesss from a theoreticallly smarter reasdership commmenting about this computer industry icon. He loooks like an IT version of Lindsay Lohan if you ask me (that's her name, right?)
Bluelake, Griff999, Beat001, Tetrapoda, you're each suspended for a day for violating #1 of the Code of Honor.
Belize has one of the most corrupt governments in the world . The people of Belize are murderous , thieving people and dont care about human life . I personally believe McAfee and I wish him luck in getting his stay in Guatemala .
I've been going to Belize since 1981 when they got full independence. your statement is totally false! I have always enjoyed all my trips there and have met some very incredible people there. They have a very diverse population there ,probably due to Britains rule. As in any Third world nation there are times that you should watch your back, just like you would in any major US city! Actually Guatemala has more human rights issues with their government than any of the other Central American countries, probably followed by Honduras. I've been to most of these countries in central America, and the only one that ever had me concerned was my travels through Guatemala. In fact there was a farm in Poptun Guatemala,Finca Ixobel, that was owned by an american couple,whose husband was beheaded by the military in 1990. His name was Michael Devine. I will still have to say that I always felt comfortable in my dealings with the people of Guatemala, and only felt concerned when dealing with government officials! He should of stayed in Belize nd it makes me wonder why he would pick a country that would be readily accepting of "mordida"! the bribery you mention, I also have to say in all of my travels in Mexico and Central America, The only country that tried to get me to pay a bribe was Guatemala, fortunately I am able to speak decent spanish for a gringo and handled the issue well!
Maybe his girlfriends uncle...If the article reads right I would say thats why he went where he did
How has the other American been killed?
It is interesting that he does not like to live in US. What other things that is interested him there are kept him away from a safer and better protected nation, USA?
First of all, it's cheaper. Second of all, you can likely get away with a lot more, because local officials are more bribeable.
deleted
scanning
rebooting
Installing updates. Do not turn your computer off.
Bluescreen Error... Boot To Last Known Good Configuration?
mcAfee antivirus sux ass im using AVG it is 100% free and it removes spyware and malware also
I think he's guilty , because why would he be running other wise?
AVG is free. but after a year they ask you to do a paid upgrade. AVG will dump spyware into you system that shuts it down if you don't buy in. FACT; supported by the knowledgeable service company that had to clean up my laptop. The service company repairs several computers every week that use AVG). My friend be careful with what you consider as "free" in the end.
actually the only thing you have to ever pay for is the pc tuner (cleans pc junk/clutter) or Identity protection>after a year a newer version comes out (aka next year it will be (avg 2014 etc.) yo can stick with basic which still has free anti malware and spyware +resident sheild (firewall) which is free > paying is optional if you want to clean pc clutter and registry errors but i use CC cleaner to remove registry errors and for alureon TDSS MBR rootkits i use TDSS killer by kasperkey which is free >so "IF"any TDSS MBR virus makes its way on my computer and messes with my MBR(Master Boot Record) i can remove it with TDSS killer and use "aswMBR" to fix/repair my MBR so i wont get (BSoD) which is caused by the TDSS Rootkit changing the masterbootrecord on my pc!! also if you ever get ransomware you can remove it by launching system restore and going to a restor point prior to recieving it !!! if you want pro tips go to this guy on youtube his youtube name is (Britech09) he's got a whole channel devoted on PC related issues like virus removal to (how to boot Windows 8 in safemode)
Wow, that went way over my head...lol.
Bonkers and Internet in the same sentence?
dude sounds nutz !!.... or maybe he just has a VIRUS... hmMmmmm ????!!
Tweaker.
I can't feel sorry for this guy. I suffered at the hands of his creation for 3 years before I could no longer handle it . Constantly downloading updates and restarts were intolerable. I sometimes think the virus scare is overblown.
"McAfee smuggled himself and his girlfriend, who he calls Samantha, across the porous land border that Belize shares with Guatemala."
...girlfriend, whom he calls...
If he calls her Samantha, what does everyone else call her?
smart
and later on in the story, the writer writes that he "died his hair and goatee black." That should be dyed, not died. MSNBC copy editing (or lack thereof) is notorious.
Dude, take off the aluminum foil hat and quit standing in the middle of the field..the aliens are not coming for you..
Perhaps he should have stayed in the U.S.
But then he would have to pay taxes!
If he's brought back to the States, he'll get a 30 Day Trial.
lol..
lol!
Guilty! ..next!
"with his hair and goatee died black..."
dyed black. I don't know whether to be disgusted at the reporter, the editor, or the general lack of illiteracy among "professional writers."
I have to agree with you, Mark. NBCNews.com has always had lots of grammar and spelling errors. I know grade-school children who are better writers.
For some people, too much money + too much time = go insane.
or too little money...too much time = insanity...at least that's what the voices keep telling me
how he lived and acted in belize is totally normal. i have experienced that else where in the carribean. and if you have his money and fame it`s worse. you must carry a gun, show you have a gun and have body gaurds. every crook and dope addict sees you as a target for easy money. goes for the cops too. and the local government. and what`s wrong with liking beautiful island ladies . ? nothing! and it`s possible to become perinoid when every one in a third world country would kill you for the loot;so all you arm chair quarterbacks who knocks the guy, get a life. you`ve probably never been out of the usa, and if so probably at an all inclussive hotel. i feel sorry for him, he`s telling the truth, i believe. i speak my opinion only because i have experienced it. you make some enemies and soon they don`t let up. you have to carry a weapon, show your not afraid or die. simple as that. good luck john!!!!!
I heard this guy is pretty near crazy to begin with, so I'm not buying he is innocent of this crime.
did you hear it from a reliable source, like your barber's cousin's aunt's daughter in law's dog groomer's son's girlfriend's BFF's dad?
If I was wanted for questioning in Belize for a murder I think I might run as well, whether I did it or not.
Heck, he is more elusive than a computer virus.
he just hit esc.
sounds like a wealthy dude who thinks he is free of any laws he broke .
A true American hero and fellow Obama supporter, may he live free forever!!
That's funny, you made my day
Belize is another 3rd world corrupt @!$%#hole, like every country inhabited by darkies.
That's NOT funny
I know it's not funny. It's sad and pathetic.
This case is tough to judge. On the one hand he fits the perfect example of a sociopathic nut job. On the other hand Belize is most definately a murderous and corrupt place. I know first hand that This is true. I knew 2 lovely people there who have been murdered and the resulting police cover up.
He did the right thing by getting the F outta there.