Christa Toribiong
Christa Toribiong Photo: Supplied
The wife of former Palau president Johnson Toribiong has been released a day after being arrested upon entry at the Saipan International Airport on Monday.
Christa Toribiong was arrested at the airport in relation to criminal charges filed against her in the State of Texas, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, specifically a firearm.
The arrest warrant was put into effect on 29 August this year.
Toribiong was detained at the Department of Public Safety (DPS) in Saipan on Tuesday.
According to DPS, the Criminal Investigation Bureau had been working on detaining her further as a fugitive of justice.
DPS chief of police and acting public information officer Simon Manacop told local media that Texas would not extradite outside the 50 US states, so Christa would not be arrested.
"The criminal charges were filed in Texas [and] she did not violate any laws here in the CNMI," Manacop said.
He said that they were not able to find out the purpose of Christa's visit to the CNMI.
Christa, an attorney, is also known to be the current wife of Johnson. Christa allegedly filed for divorce from the former president last month, but at the moment it is unclear if the pair are still together.
In May, Christa sued Palau's current President Surangel Whipps Jr in his personal and official capacity before a US Federal Court in Texas for banning her - a US citizen entering Palau.
Formerly known as Christa Nafstad, she was listed by the Palau government as an undesirable alien in 2022.
Toribiong argues she was unlawfully put on the "blacklist" under the rules of the Compact of Free Association (COFA).
The COFA is an agreement the United States has with Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia. It gives the US military access to the three nations in return the Freely Associated States are given financial assistance and the right for citizens to work in the US.
However, Toribiong argues that under the compact, she could only be added to the blacklist on reasonable statutory grounds, which she claims she has not been provided.
Toribiong also claims she has been denied due process, which she says is her right.
President Whipps told RNZ Pacific he believed Toribiong's actions "comes down to harassment" and there was no logic in filing a lawsuit in Texas.
"If a country cannot secure its own borders how can you be a country?" Whipps said.
"That's really what it comes down to, and I think that's the same rule that the United States has on keeping Palauan citizens out."
-Saipan Tribune, with additional reporting from Caleb Fotheringham