Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE MYSTERY OF MCAFEE
Tech pioneer
John McAfee
made his name - and his multimillions - developing software that
tracks down computer viruses. But in 2012, he became the one who was being tracked down
- through the jungles of Belize. British-American expat McAfee fled his compound on
Ambergris Caye in the autumn of 2012 after Belizean police wanted to question him as a
“person of interest” in the death of his neighbour, a Florida retiree who was found with a bullet
in his head. The two men had apparently been quarrelling over McAfee's many dogs, several of
which had been poisoned. The death made news on the island, but it was what happened
afterwards that took this case from “local crime story to worldwide news”, as the
New York Times
put it. McAfee didn't just go on the run - he mocked Belizean o
cials while doing so. He
became a gleeful “cyberdissident,” posting on Twitter and websites, as he trekked to Guatemala,
wearing disguises along the way, including that of a “drunk German tourist”, as he wrote on his
blog. Even Belizean Prime Minister Dean Barrows weighed in, branding McAfee “bonkers”.
McAfee was deported by Guatemala to Florida, and now spends time in Oregon, California and
Montréal. He has said that he'll cooperate with Belizean police as long as he can do so on his
own turf, in the US. If you think this is a story made for the movies, you're right - McAfee's
fugitive tale has already been optioned by Warner Brothers.
Belize's US$2.3 billion GDP and employing almost a third of the country's
workforce, is now the mainstay of Belize's
economy
, pushing agriculture and
fisheries into a close second place. The
cruise industry
continues to grow, which, of
course, affects the country's conservation efforts (see p.246) and also, according to
some, Belize's overall cultural direction. In the last few years especially, tour
operators, in order to appeal to cruise ship day-trippers, have had to incorporate a
sometimes frivolous, entertaining-at-all-costs approach to guiding at venerated
sights. This can add an “amusement park” feel to some of the popular Maya
temples, where you'll regularly see big buses disgorging passengers. Of course,
proponents state that the cruise industry brings in the bucks, and for many
Belizeans, that's key to a rosy future. The big cruise news in 2013 is that Norwegian
Cruise Line (NCL) purchased an island - Harvest Caye - from the Belizean
government in southern Belize, to develop its own resort. NCL will be investing
US$50 million in the caye, which lies just three miles from the village of Placencia,
with an estimated opening in 2016. Though NCL has promised that the resort will
meet the highest eco-friendly standards, the overall response is very mixed, with
conservationists bemoaning the potential damaging effects to local flora and fauna.
Annual growth in Belize hovers around three percent, with inflation at four percent,
and unemployment a steady ten percent. Per capita income is high for Central
America, at about US$8400, boosted by remittances many Belizeans receive from
relatives abroad. This apparent advantage is offset by the fact that many of the brightest
and most highly trained citizens leave, fitting in well in English-speaking North
America, though some graduates do return.
A flip side to increased tourism has been
ex-pat immigration
to Belize from North
America and Europe, which continues to rise. In recent years, Belize's north, around
Corozal, Orange Walk and Sarteneja, has become fertile ground for expats, because real
estate is still a relative bargain - and proximity to Mexico means more (and often
2005
2006
2008
Discovery and extraction of
oil at Spanish Lookout in Cayo
District
Belize begins commercial
production with its oil
reserves
Following PUP corruption
allegations, UDP returns to power
in 2008 under Prime Minister Dean
Barrow
