Military of Cape Verde The Cabo Verdean Armed Forces ( ) or FACV are the military of Cape Verde . They include two branches , the National Guard and the Coast Guard . History . Before 1975 , Cape Verde was an overseas province of Portugal , having a small Portuguese military garrison . This included both Cabo Verdean and European Portuguese soldiers . At the same time , some Cabo Verdeans were serving in the People ' s Revolutionary Armed Forces ( FARP ) , the military organization of the PAIGC party that was fighting for the joint independence of Guinea and Cape Verde in the Guinea - Bissau War of Independence . The FARP became the national armed forces of Guinea - Bissau , when its independence was recognized by Portugal in 1974 . The Armed Forces of Cape Verde were created when the independence of the country occurred in 1975 , being also officially designated as the People ' s Revolutionary Armed Forces ( " Forças Armadas Revolucionárias do Povo " ) or FARP . The Cabo Verdean FARP were made of two independent branches , the Army ( " Exército " ) and the Coast Guard ( " Guarda Costeira " ) . In the early 1990s , the designation " FARP " was dropped and the military of Cape Verde started to be designated as the Cabo Verdean Armed Forces ( " Forças Armadas Cabo Verdeanas " ) or FACV . In 2007 , the FACV started a major reorganization , that included the transformation of the Army into the National Guard ( " Guarda Nacional " ) . Together with the Cabo Verdean Police , the FACV carried away Operation " Flying Launch " ( " Operacão " Lancha Voadora ) , a major successful operation to try to put an end to a drug trafficking group who smuggled cocaine from Colombia to the Netherlands and Germany and who used Cape Verde as a reorder point . The whole operation took more than three years , being a secret operation during the two first years , being finished in 2010 . Although located in Africa , Cape Verde had always close relations with Europe . Because of this , several opinions defend that Cape Verde may enter the Organization for Security and Co - operation in Europe and the NATO . The most recent engagement of the FACV was the 2016 Cape Verde army mutiny that resulted in 11 deaths . Structure . The Cabo Verdean Armed Forces are part of the Ministry of National Defense of Cape Verde and include : The CEMFA is Colonel , being the highest rank officer of the Armed Forces . National Guard . The National Guard ( " Guarda National " ) is the main branch of the Cabo Verdean Armed Forces for the military defense of the country , being responsible for the execution of land and maritime environment operations and the support to internal security . It includes : There is not a general command of the National Guard . Each military region command is headed by a Lieutenant - Colonel directly subordinate to the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and includes units of the three corps . Coast Guard . The Coast Guard ( " Guarda Costeira " ) is the branch of the Cabo Verdean Armed Forces responsible for the defense and protection of the country ' s economical interests at the sea under national jurisdiction and for providing air and naval support to land and amphibious operations . It includes : The Coast Guard is headed by an officer with the rank of Lieutenant - Colonel . The Naval and Air Squadrons incorporate , respectively , all the vessels and aircraft of the Cabo Verdean Armed Forces . Equipment . Aircraft . The Cabo Verdean Army used to have its own air arm ; after personnel training received from the USSR in 1982 , three Antonov An - 26 aircraft were delivered to Cape Verde – these were believed to be the only military aircraft possessed by the nation . However these three aircraft were supplemented in 1991 by a Dornier Do 228 light aircraft equipped for use by the Coast Guard , and , in the late 1990s by an EMB - 110 aircraft from Brazil , similarly equipped for maritime operations . The government has been in negotiations with China to acquire multirole helicopters for both military and civilian use .