LONDON: Heavily armed US military planes have been landing in Britain since Saturday, suggesting America is preparing for further military operations following the capture of Venezuela’s President Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in a weekend raid.A fleet of at least 14 C-17 Globemaster III cargo jets and at least two armed AC-130J Ghostrider gunships have landed at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, and RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, since Saturday.The 174-f00t-long Globemaster is designed to transport most military vehicles and paratroopers. The Ghostrider carries cannon, bombs and missiles.At least five MH-60M Black Hawk helicopters and one MH-47G Chinook, thought to have been carried on the Globemaster, have been spotted in British hangars. An American KC-135R Stratotanker military aerial refuelling plane landed in Mildenhall on Tuesday.Some of the aircraft took off from Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia and Fort Campbell in Kentucky, home to the US Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, nicknamed the Night Stalkers, which played a key role in capturing Maduro and took part in the mission to capture Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.Special operations soldiers were seen rappelling from two CV-22B tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft in a fast-rope and rescue exercise at RAF Fairfield on Tuesday.An MoD spokesperson told TOI: “As routine, we do not comment on the operational activity of other nations, including third party use of UK bases. The US is the UK’s principal defence and security partner. The depth of our defence relationship with the US remains an essential part of our security.”A spokesman for the UK PM said: “I’m not going to comment on speculation around operational activity, especially regarding other nations. The US is the UK’s most important defence and security partner.”It is possible the military build-up was in order to seize the Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera, until recently known as the Bella-1, in the North Atlantic on Wednesday after it slipped through a US naval blockade of Venezuela. President Trump has also threatened to seize Greenland by force, to attack Iran if the regime’s forces kill demonstrators, and made threats against Colombia and Mexico.The US operates in the UK under a range of national and international agreements, principally the Nato Status of Forces Agreement and the Visiting Forces Act. Any US operation from a base in the UK is considered on a case-by-case basis.