There has been a serious deterioration in US-Pacific relations following the arrest of a Samoan politician in the United States.
In an exclusive interview with ONE News, the Samoan government has called the US State Department's actions toxic and a breach of international law.
Samoan associate trade minister Joe Keil spent four years with the US Air force fighting for American freedom.
But for the last two months, he has been fighting for his own, imprisoned by the country he once served.
The Samoan government is furious.
"The message we are going to send out to the state department is we are going to be in your face until you send back our associate minister," says Misa Telefoni, Samoa Deputy Prime Minister.
Keil has had a US passport for 41 years and has had it renewed seven times.
But returning from a European Union meeting in Brussels, he was arrested on a US stopover. He was told the American passport he was using was illegal.
The US then forcibly removed his diplomatic passport and his Samoan diplomatic passport.
This breaches international law, but what's making waves is that Wellington's US Embassy knew there was an investigation, months before Keil was arrested.
"They had a duty, diplomatically, to advise our government," says Telefoni.
However Dave Keegan, Senior US diplomat sees this differently.
"There is a requirement for confidentiality, so we could not raise this with the government of Samoa until Keil was detained by United States authorities", he says.
Officials are moving quickly into damage control.
"There is a great deal of mutual respect and for that reason I think our relationship will be improving," says Keegan.
But not according to Samoa. Supporters including US veterans are planning a protest march to the US Apia embassy.
"The injustice that has been done by the US may not be an illegal injustice but its an immoral injustice," says Captain Mark Moors, Samoan Veterans President.
Keil has since been released on bail, but his fight is far from over.
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