John McAfee arrives in Miami after deportation Published duration 13 December 2012

media caption John McAfee has arrived in the United States

The software tycoon John McAfee has arrived in the United States after being deported by Guatemala.

He landed in Miami, after being escorted to the airport in Guatemala City and placed on board an American Airlines flight.

Mr McAfee said before leaving he was "perfectly happy with the decision".

He was detained a week ago after fleeing from Belize, where he is wanted for questioning in connection with the murder of a neighbour.

The 67-year-old has denied any role in the killing. The authorities in Belize say he is not a suspect in the investigation.

He has spent more than a month on the run with his girlfriend, blogging about his exploits.

As he left Guatemala City, Mr McAfee said he was happy to be going home.

"I've been running through jungles and rivers and oceans and I think I need to rest for a while. And I've been in jail for seven days," he said.

He said he had no immediate plans when he reached Florida, only that he was going "to hang in Miami for a while".

Passengers on the same flight as Mr McAfee said that he had been taken off the plane before everyone else.

A spokesman for Miami International Airport said he would be escorted by federal authorities after clearing customs. It was not immediately clear where he was heading or what his legal status was.

Paranoid

In an interview with Bloomberg Television ahead of his departure, Mr McAfee said he wanted to apologise to the Guatemalan president for putting him in an awkward position during negotiations on a territorial dispute with Belize.

His lawyers blocked an extradition request from Belize, where he has been named a "person of interest" in the murder of Florida businessman Gregory Faull.

Mr McAfee says he is happy to talk to Belize police but did not want to be remanded in their custody.

He claims he is being persecuted by the authorities in Belize, whom he accuses of corruption.

Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow had a more prosaic explanation: "I don't want to be unkind to the gentleman, but I believe he is extremely paranoid, even bonkers."

Belize police spokesman Raphael Martinez said Belize's extradition treaty with the US extended only to suspected criminals, a designation that did not currently apply to Mr McAfee.

"Right now, we don't have enough information to change his status from person of interest to suspect," he said.