Back in U.S., McAfee's next move unclear

One day after John McAfee was deported from Guatemala to Miami, it was unclear whether the software mogul, wanted in Belize for questioning about a neighbor's death, would be extradited to that country.

McAfee said Thursday he hasn't been questioned by U.S. authorities since he arrived in Miami.

McAfee, who moved to Belize in the early 1990s after founding and selling the software company that still bears his name, has said repeatedly that he believes the Belize government wants him dead.

He told ABC News he faked a heart attack in Guatemala to buy time for a judge to stay his deportation to Belize. "I look pretty healthy, don't I?" he said.

He denied illegal drug use. "I haven't taken drugs in 30 years," he told The Miami Herald.

McAfee, 67, hasn't indicated his next move. He said he is focused on seeking the State Department's help in getting two girlfriends, 20 and 17, out of Belize for their safety.

The fact that the State Department has a generally favorable impression of Belize's justice system, and both countries have a treaty agreeing to hand over suspects, are factors in his fate, says Laura Lichter, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

On McAfee's blog, labeled "edited by staff," someone wrote, "Please respect John's privacy this evening." The entry also said, "We have contacted Sam, and are putting her in touch with John" — an apparent reference to Samantha Venegas,McAfee's 20-year-old Belizean girlfriend, who accompanied him on the run but did not come to the U.S.

McAfee's webmaster, Chad Essley, told USA TODAY on Thursday via Twitter that McAfee was rested and doing well — "location unknown," he said. "Received a call saying he was safe and finally a bit rested just now."

McAfee did not respond to queries via Twitter.

Police in Belize have called McAfee a "person of interest" in the fatal shooting of American businessman Gregory Faull.McAfee turned up in Guatemala after three weeks on the run.

The State Department website offers hints about McAfee's future, Lichter says.

"One of the things to look at is how much faith the U.S. puts in the Belize judicial system — whether they are good guys and fairly predictable or human rights violators," she said.

The site says there have been instances of excessive force used by police, but that the constitution provides for an independent judiciary that "generally enforced" the right to a fair trial. It says the U.S. and Belize have "cordial" relations and work together to fight transnational crime.

FBI spokesman James Marshall told the Associated Press in an e-mail that the agency was not involved in McAfee's return to the United States. U.S. officials said there was no active arrest warrant for McAfee that would justify taking him into custody.