By 1975 Angola was no longer a Portuguese colony, for the next 15 years war raged as the three Angolan groups fought each other for control, influenced by the Cold War. Once the Cold War ended, the United Nations would be involved in peacemaking. In Angola the United Nations would be successful in UNAVEM I, but would have difficulty with subsequent missions to establish peace in Angola. The UN would make mistakes on its watch, but it would also fall victim to uncontrollable situations. The United Nations would learn lessons in Angola that would help increase its capabilities as a global peacekeeping force. The first United Nations mission to Angola would be titled United Nations Angolan Verification Mission (UNAVEM I). The mission would begin in December 1988, the agreement provided for the implementation of a United Nations plan for the independence of Namibia, the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola and measures to achieve peace in the region. The main task of the mission was to monitor the withdrawal of all Cuban troops and their equipment. UNAVEM was supposed to last 31 months, just one month after Cuba's withdrawal from the region expired. The Mission took place as planned since the Angolan-Cuban agreement was respected as written. The withdrawal would occur faster than expected, the 50,000 Cuban soldiers and their equipment would be completely withdrawn from Angola on May 25. The forces that made up UNAVEM were to begin leaving Angola on 31 May. UNAVEMI's Mission was a success, the set objectives were achieved without delay. UNAVEM I was successful because it did not monitor the peace agreements but only the removal of the Cuban army. The success of the mission can largely be attributed to the cooperation of the parties involved, which left the...... middle of paper...... days of MONUA. The main problem the United Nations faced throughout Angola was trying to combat a vast problem with a simple solution. The United Nations was in a period where it did not realize how its power could be used, how much and what the real mission was. This would be the main problem for the failure to help Angola achieve peace. UN involvement in Angola would end with the UN abandoning the country, achieving no results in the many years spent trying. The United Nations would have been successful with UNAVEMI only because the mission was small, achievable, and did not address an underlying problem. When the United Nations intervened in UNAVEMII and subsequent missions, they did so with high expectations and without realizing the problems that actually existed. The United Nations would leave Angola in the same condition they were in when they arrived, nowhere near peace.