Fugitive McAfee seeks asylum in Guatemala

American Internet pioneer John McAfee, wanted in Belize for questioning over his neighbor's murder, has made it across the border into Guatemala and on Tuesday sought political asylum. The former Silicon Valley entrepreneur, now a lean and weathered 67-year-old, went on the run from his home on the paradise island of Ambergris Caye after neighbor Gregory Faull was murdered on November 11. McAfee and girlfriend Sam Vanegas, 20, managed to evade the Belizean authorities for more than three weeks, making it across the border into Guatemala over the weekend after devising elaborate ruses to confuse police. "We are applying for political asylum," McAfee told journalists in Guatemala City, hours after securing the services of Telesforo Guerra, a former Guatemalan attorney general who is also said to be his girlfriend's uncle. McAfee amassed an estimated $100 million fortune during the early days of the Internet in the 1990s, designing the pioneering anti-virus software that bears his name, before opting out to become an intrepid adventure-seeker. "They accuse him of a common crime. So what I have to obtain is an authorization of asylum," Guerra told AFP, saying McAfee feared for his life in Belize and was being persecuted for refusing to bribe officials. Faull, a 52-year-old Florida expat, was discovered early in the morning on November 11 by his housekeeper with a 9-mm slug in his head, lying in a pool of his own blood. No charges have been laid against McAfee, who was embroiled in a bitter neighborly dispute with the deceased and has so far only been declared a "person of interest" in the case. Three of McAfee's associates have been remanded in custody for alleged firearm offenses and are expected in court in Belize on December 19. "To the family of Gregory Faull: I had nothing to do with his death. I have lost five close family members in my 67 years and I know your suffering," McAfee wrote Tuesday on his blog, whoismcafee.com. "To the Belizean police: I will answer any questions that you may have over the phone. If I am indeed merely wanted for questioning, this should suffice." Prior to his murder, Faull led neighbors in writing a letter to the local mayor complaining that McAfee's "vicious" dogs and aggressive security guards were scaring tourists and residents alike. McAfee shot dead four of his dogs before fleeing, claiming they had been poisoned, possibly by Faull. The dogs have since been exhumed and police in Belize said ballistics experts had found bullets in the carcasses and were seeing if the slugs matched one found in Faull. McAfee decamped to Belize in 2009 after losing most of his fortune due to bad investments and the financial crisis. According to a raft of profiles in the US media, his lifestyle became increasingly extreme as he descended into a hedonistic binge centered on experimental drug use and young prostitutes. McAfee was briefly incarcerated in April after police found him living with a 17-year-old girl and discovered an arsenal of seven pump-action shotguns, one single-action shotgun, and two 9-mm pistols. Before fleeing south into Guatemala, McAfee put out a false report saying he had been captured near the northern Mexican border and claimed to have sent a "double" with a North Korean passport to Mexico as another decoy. "The information was intended for my pursuers. I regret that it may have confused or alarmed many of you. I hope you will consider the circumstances and forgive me," McAfee later assured his supporters. Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow has described McAfee as "bonkers," saying he is only wanted for questioning and urging him to give himself up. McAfee on Tuesday offered to meet Barrow in a neutral country to show him thousands of hours of video and audio proof of official corruption. "It is entirely possible that you have little or no knowledge of the level of corruption being propagated throughout every branch of your government," the fugitive said. Vice magazine, which has two journalists traveling with McAfee chronicling his deeply bizarre story, showed a photo of him and Guerra having breakfast on its website and revealed the latest, romantic twist in the tale. "I have known Samantha for a year and a half. She is a remarkable young woman. I love her very much and we are getting married," McAfee was quoted as telling Guerra. "Unfortunately you will have a potential criminal in the family. My apologies for that, and I will do the best I can to make it up to you," he added, reportedly prompting an amused response from Guerra. McAfee said he had not contacted the American embassy while in Belize because he didn't feel safe communicating with Belizean nationals there, but now that he was in Guatemala, he would reach out to the US mission there.