Software company founder John McAfee tells The Associated Press he has formally requested asylum in Guatemala, claiming he is the victim of persecution in neighboring Belize.
The U.S. citizen had a series of clashes with neighbors and authorities over allegations he kept aggressive dogs, illegal weapons and drug paraphernalia in his beachfront home on a Belize island. McAfee has said he was being persecuted for refusing to donate to local politicians
He went on the run last month after officials tried to question him about the fatal shooting of a neighbor. He crossed into Guatemala this week and tells the AP he formally applied for asylum Wednesday.
He says: "Yes, we are presenting this, and I want it to be clear, because of the persecution, not because of the murder."
McAfee attended Northside High School and Roanoke College. He spoke at Roanoke College's commencement in 2008. He is the founder of the antivirus software company McAfee Inc.
Police in Belize are looking to question McAfee about the death of his neighbor.
------------------------------
Original story from Dec. 4
Surfacing in public for the first time in weeks, software company founder John McAfee says he plans to ask for asylum in Guatemala, saying he fears persecution in Belize.
McAfee is now at a hotel in Guatemala City after sneaking out of neighboring Belize, where police have called him a person of interest in the November slaying of a fellow American ex-pat.
He tells The Associated Press that he will petition the Guatemalan government to allow him to stay. McAfee has said he fears he will be killed if he turns himself in for questioning in Belize.
McAfee has spent weeks narrating his life on the lam through emails, blog posts and calls to reporters.
McAfee attended Northside High School and Roanoke College. He spoke at Roanoke College's commencement in 2008. He is the founder of the antivirus software company McAfee Inc.
Police in Belize are looking to question McAfee about the death of his neighbor.
------------------------------
Software company founder John McAfee says he has left Belize and is still on the run. He says on his blog "we are not in Belize, but not quite out of the woods yet."
The latest chapter in the saga of the eccentric anti-virus company founder featured rumors over the weekend that he had been caught.
Police in the Central American nation have denied he was captured.
In an email to The Associated Press, McAfee confirmed a posting to his website that described in what appeared to be joking tones how he had avoided authorities by mounting a distraction.
In the blog Monday, McAfee claimed that "my `double,' carrying on a North Korean passport under my name, was in fact detained in Mexico for pre-planned misbehavior."
McAfee attended Northside High School and Roanoke College. He spoke at Roanoke College's commencement in 2008. He is the founder of the antivirus software company McAfee Inc.
Police in Belize are looking to question McAfee about the death of his neighbor.
