LONDON: Heavily armed US military planes have been landing in Britain since Saturday, suggesting America is preparing for further military action following the capture of Venezuela’s President Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in a weekend attack.A fleet of at least 14 C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft and at least two armed AC-130J Ghostrider gunships have landed at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk since Saturday.The 174-foot-long Globemaster is designed to transport most military vehicles and paratroopers. The Ghostrider carries cannons, bombs and rockets.At least five MH-60M Black Hawk helicopters and one MH-47G Chinook, believed to have been carried on the Globemaster, were spotted in British hangars. An American military KC-135R Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft landed in Mildenhall on Tuesday.Some of the planes took off from Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia and Fort Campbell in Kentucky, home of the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, nicknamed the “Night Stalkers,” which played a key role in the capture of Maduro and took part in the mission to capture Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.Special forces soldiers were seen rappelling from two Osprey CV-22B tiltrotor aircraft during a fast-roping and rescue exercise at RAF Fairfield on Tuesday.A Ministry of Defense spokesperson told TOI: “We do not typically comment on the operational activities of other nations, including third-party use of UK bases. The US is the UK’s most important defense and security partner. The depth of our defense relationship with the US remains an integral part of our security.”A spokesman for the British Prime Minister said: “I will not comment on speculation about operational activities, particularly in relation to other nations. The US is Britain’s most important defense and security partner.”It is possible that the military buildup was used 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 U.S. naval blockade of Venezuela. President Trump has also threatened to seize Greenland by force, attack Iran if regime forces kill protesters, and made threats against Colombia and Mexico.The US operates in the UK under a number of domestic and international agreements, most notably the NATO Status of Forces Agreement and the Visiting Forces Act. Any US deployment from a base in the UK will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
