Latvia is emerging as the principal entry point for migration from Belarus into the European Union as tighter controls redirect pressure away from Poland, increasing the security and resource burden on Riga while creating a broader EU vulnerability to border displacement, organized smuggling and Minsk's instrumentalization of migration. On Aug. 11, Latvia announced the discovery of a tunnel beneath its border with Belarus and the arrest of 15 migrants who were trying to enter the country. According to Latvian authorities, the tunnel -- the first of its kind ever discovered in Latvia -- had been dug approximately 1.5 meters beneath the physical barrier along the border. The announcement came shortly after Lithuanian authorities discovered a tunnel on the Lithuania-Belarus border on July 26, the 12th detected tunneling attempt or excavation along Lithuania's border barrier this year. Since 2021, the European Union has accused Belarus, backed by Russia, of instrumentalizing migration...
