US Arrests Green Beret Over Alleged $400,000 Bets on Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has arrested a high-ranking Army officer for allegedly using classified information to place bets on a military operation in Venezuela. Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a member of the elite US Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets, has been charged with unlawfully using confidential government information for personal gain, theft of non-public government information, and fraud. According to the indictment, Van Dyke used his knowledge of the impending raid on Venezuela to place $33,000 in bets on Polymarket, a prediction market platform, and won approximately $400,000 after the operation. The US Attorney's office stated that Van Dyke's actions constitute clear insider trading and are illegal under federal law. Van Dyke allegedly created a Polymarket account in December 2025 and placed 13 bets between December 26, 2025, and January 2, 2026, on contracts related to the timing and outcome of the 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 the lives of American service members at risk. After the raid, Van Dyke allegedly withdrew his winnings, converted them to a stablecoin, and transferred the funds to a foreign cryptocurrency vault before moving them to a brokerage account. The indictment also alleges that Van Dyke attempted to conceal his identity by asking Polymarket to delete his account and changing his email address. The case has sparked a reaction from US President Donald Trump, who expressed his disapproval of the use of confidential information for betting purposes, stating that the world has become a casino and that he does not conceptually favor such activities.