According to the newspaper Jeune Afrique, in the course of the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis, 92 soldiers from the UPG were sent to protect President Laurent Gbagbo in the presidential residence in Abidjan and repel the Republican Forces of Côte d'Ivoire fought. They are said to have mined the building. The reports were rejected by the Angolan government. In September 2012, 15 UGP soldiers were put on trial for insubordination after being accused of making "demands in a group" in relations to their calls for better wages and working conditions. In 2015, it was announced that the UGP would undergoe a process in which its rapid response capabilities would be strengthened. In 2018, President João Lourenço ordered the stationing of 5,000 UGP soldiers in the province of Cuando Cubango.