US Soldier Arrested for Allegedly Betting on Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has arrested a master sergeant in the US Army, accusing him of using classified information to place bets on a military operation to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. The sergeant, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, allegedly used his knowledge of the impending raid to place $33,000 in bets on the Polymarket platform, resulting in winnings of approximately $400,000. According to the indictment, Van Dyke created a Polymarket account in late December 2025 and made 13 bets between then and early January 2026, speculating on the likelihood of US forces landing in Venezuela, removing Maduro, and other related events. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke, who is an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces. Van Dyke's actions allegedly put US national security and the lives of American service members at risk. After the raid, Van Dyke reportedly withdrew his winnings, converted them to a cryptocurrency, and transferred the funds to a brokerage account. The case has drawn attention from news organizations and has prompted US President Donald Trump to comment on the issue of federal reporters using confidential information to place bets on prediction markets.