The PR angle on this stuff is weird... they can downplay incompetence by throwing the 1980s card, and razzle dazzle the ignorant audience of North Dakotan journalists and political types by unveiling the Latvians.
The Latvia angle is rich, because it isn’t India or China (bad political optics). In the public mind, Latvia is sort of like European Canada, except fewer moose and different hats.
Latvia was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, then invaded by Nazi Germany in 1941, then the Soviet Union took it back in 1944. People who attracted the attention of the authorities in any way during those times didn't survive.
Sure, Cambodia, Armenia, etc. might be worse but very not Canada. Many people probably don't know that, of course.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcKIeD3RxRQ (animated history, ca. 8 min)
End of the day, Latvia is exotic but also harmless.
It’s really weird to put in a press release that two contractors were hired and stress the Latvia angle. Me being the cynic I am about such matters assume that it’s a distraction from an actual story!