McAfee's fate likely tied to Belize political relations

• Next step in murder case hinges on U.S.-Belize relationship

Now that software mogul John McAfee has been deported and flown from Guatemala to Miami, his next step depends, at least in part, on relations between the United States and Belize, the president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association says.

McAfee, 67, is a "person of interest" in the fatal shooting of his neighbor in Belize, American businessman Gregory Faull. McAfee turned up in Guatemala after a month on the run in Belize.

"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," says Laura Lichter, president of the lawyers' association, based in Washington.

"Look for the Department of State human rights reports and that will have a section on judicial process," Lichter advised. "That's sort of our official, scholarly guideline about how other countries conduct themselves. If we have real issues with their justice system, you'll see that in their report."

The State Department human rights report on Belize indicates that there have been some instances of excessive force used by law enforcement, but that "the constitution provides for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial independence in practice." The report also notes that the independent judiciary "generally enforced" rights to a fair trial.

According to the State Department report on relations with Belize, the United States and the Central American country enjoy "cordial" relations and the United States is home to the largest Belizean community outside of Belize. Both countries work together, according to the report, to fight transnational crime and they also have a mutual legal assistance treaty covering extraditions.

Lichter says the existence of such a treaty, an agreement to extradite criminals to one another's countries, also will make a difference in what happens next with McAfee.

McAfee was holed up in a Miami hotel Wednesday night. Shortly after he arrived in Miami, he announced on his website that he had alighted in the city's swank South Beach neighborhood.

Authorities from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Marshals office and the U.S. attorney's office did not immediately respond to questions Wednesday about whether McAfee would be questioned or detained in the U.S. They said there was no active arrest warrant for McAfee that would justify taking him into custody.

On his website Wednesday night, the 67-year-old British native said he was escorted by a group of federal agents to an airport taxi stand, where he caught a cab to the hotel.

"I have no phone, no money, no contact information," the online post said. Reached by telephone at the hotel, McAfee told an AP reporter he couldn't talk because he was waiting for a call from his girlfriend, 20-year-old Belizean Samantha Vanegas.

Vanegas had accompanied him when he was on the run, but did not go with him to the U.S.

Contributing: The Associated Press