Cape Verde only war for independence against Portugal between 1974 and 1975, the efforts of the Caboverdean Armed Forces have now been turned to combating international drug trafficking. In 2007, together with the Cape Verdean Police, they carried out Operation Flying Launch ("Operacão Lancha Voador"a), a successful operation to put an end to a drug trafficking group which smuggled cocaine from Colombia to the Netherlands and Germany using the country as a reorder point. The operation took more than three years, being a secret operation during the first two years, and ended in 2010. Although located in Africa, Cape Verde has always
Cape Verde designation "Cabo Verde" would henceforth be used for official purposes, such as at the United Nations, even in English contexts. Cape Verde is a member of the African Union. The name of the country stems from the nearby Cap-Vert, on the Senegalese coast. In 1444, Portuguese explorers had named that landmark as "Cabo Verde," a few years before they discovered the islands ("Verde" is Portuguese for "green"). On 24 October 2013, the country's delegation announced at the United Nations that the official name should no longer be translated into other languages. Instead of "Cape Verde", the designation "Republic of Cabo