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Deportation looms for McAfee after heart drama

Deportation looms for McAfee after heart drama


Guatemala City: Software guru John McAfee, fighting deportation to Belize, was rushed to a hospital in Guatemala on Thursday shortly after his asylum request was rejected, but a suspected heart attack turned out to be stress in a fresh twist to the saga. The 67-year-old US computer software pioneer was taken swiftly from a hospital in a police car out of the sight of media, after earlier arriving in an ambulance lying on a stretcher.

His lawyer said he was being taken back to an immigration department cottage where he has been detained since crossing illegally into Guatemala from neighboring Belize, where police want to question him in connection with his neighbor's murder. "He never had a heart attack, nothing like that," said Telesforo Guerra, a former attorney general who had earlier said McAfee had two mild heart attacks.

"I'm not a doctor. I'm just telling you what the doctors told me," he added. "He was suffering from stress, hypertension and tachycardia (an abnormally fast heartbeat)." McAfee was posting on his blog in the morning on Thursday, the time he suffered the stress attack. "I don't think a heart attack prevents one from using one's blog," Guerra had said at the time.

Guerra's assistant, Karla Paz, earlier said she found McAfee lying on the ground and unable to move his body or speak. McAfee was detained by Guatemalan police on Wednesday for illegally sneaking across the border with his 20-year-old girlfriend to escape authorities in Belize. He has said he fears authorities in Belize will kill him if he returns.

Guatemala's foreign minister, Harold Caballeros, said earlier McAfee's request for asylum was rejected. Constitutional lawyer Gabriel Orellana, a former foreign minister, said the government should have given more weight to the asylum request rather than rush to a decision. "We should take into account the fact that McAfee has not been accused of any crime in Belize," he said.




McAfee's earlier posts spoke of his relief at arriving in Guatemala, thinking he had found a way out of his troubles. One of his readers posted a message offering him just that. "John. I have a special ops team near the La Aurora International Airport. I can get you out of jail and provide safe passage back to the States for a fee. Please let me know if this interests you."

Guatemala's government originally said the eccentric tech entrepreneur, who loves guns and young women and has tribal tattoos covering his shoulders, would be expelled to Belize within hours. But it later rowed back. The US State Department said it was aware of McAfee's arrest and its embassy was providing "appropriate consular services," but could not comment further.



first published:December 07, 2012, 08:27 IST