Skip to main content

John McAfee arrested in Guatemala after three weeks on the run

John McAfee arrested in Guatemala after three weeks on the run

Share this story

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

After three weeks on the lam, John McAfee, the computer programmer and founder of the McAfee security software company, has been arrested by Guatemalan authorities for illegally entering the country, reports Reuters. McAfee is wanted for questioning in relation to the November 11th murder of his neighbor in Belize, 52-year-old Gregory Faull. Earlier this month, VICE traveled to Central America to document McAfee's run from the law, accidentally publishing a cellphone picture with embedded GPS data, CBS News reported. The data revealed that 67-year-old McAfee had managed to make it across the Belizean border to Guatemala, where he applied for political asylum in a press conference earlier today. AFP reports that McAfee appeared alongside his newly-retained lawyer, Telesforo Guerra, the former Guatemalan Attorney General. He is reportedly being held under police guard at a residence belonging to the country's immigration department.

His stay looks to be short-lived, however, as the Guatemalan Interior Ministry plans to expel McAfee back to Belize for crossing the border illegally. According to Reuters, a government spokesman said the process is expected to be completed by early Thursday morning. There is currently no international arrest warrant for McAfee, and he is only listed as a "person of interest," not a prime suspect, in Faull's death. In a recently-published video from VICE (below), McAfee states his alibi in the case, saying:

"I think there's nothing to prove. I was not there, I was with Sam (girlfriend Sam Vanegas) the entire night. I've had more than half a dozen witnesses to the fact. I had no motive. I had no access to a 9-millimeter (handgun) — I don't know what there is to prove, really."