Latin, kidnap, crush
拉 centers on forceful physical action: crushing, breaking, or seizing someone against their will. The 'Latin' sense is a phonetic loan unrelated to the core meaning.
拉 combines 扌 (hand) with 立, which likely contributes the sound. The original meaning is to pull or drag, later extending to crushing and kidnapping.
A hand 扌 beside something standing 立: imagine a hand grabbing a standing person and crushing them down or dragging them away.
For ラツ, picture a hand grabbing someone so roughly that it makes a 'rats!' sound as they are crushed: rats -> ラツ.
Iraq
taking captive; carrying away; kidnapping; kidnaping; abduction
to be crushed; to be squashed (flat)
to crush
to crush; to squash
to kidnap; to abduct
abduction issue (esp. of those Japanese abducted by North Korea)
abduction and confinement (esp. unlawful)
abduction victims; abductees
Dictionarium Latino Lusitanicum ac Iaponicum (1595 Latin-Portuguese-Japanese dictionary)
Lhasa (China)