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 coast make up the majority of foreigners in the country. Over the last several years, a few thousand Europeans and Latin Americans have settled in the country. On the islands, there are over 22,000 foreigners/naturalized Cape Verdeans who hail from over 90 countries around the world living and working on a permanent basis. Over the years, Cape Verde has increasingly become a net immigration country due to its relative high per capita income, political and social stability, and freedom. Emigrants from the Cape Verde islands to North America have a long history of involvement with the armed forces. Enlisting in