US Army Green Beret Arrested for Allegedly Betting on Venezuela Raid

A US Army master sergeant has been arrested for allegedly using classified information to bet on a military operation in Venezuela, resulting in significant financial gains. Gannon Ken Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces, allegedly placed $33,000 in bets on the outcome of the raid, which aimed to detain former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, and won approximately $400,000. The US Department of Justice has charged Van Dyke with unlawfully using confidential government information for personal gain, theft of non-public government information, and fraud. According to the indictment, Van Dyke created a Polymarket account and placed 13 bets between December 26, 2025, and January 2, 2026, on contracts related to the potential US military operation in Venezuela. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke, stating that his actions endangered US national security and put American service members' lives at risk. After the raid, Van Dyke allegedly withdrew his winnings, converted them to a cryptocurrency, and transferred the funds to a brokerage account. The case has drawn attention from US President Donald Trump, who expressed disapproval of the use of confidential information for betting purposes.