US Arrests Green Beret for Allegedly Placing $400,000 in Bets on Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has taken into custody a high-ranking Army official for allegedly leveraging classified information to place wagers on a military operation in Venezuela. The operation aimed to apprehend the country's former leader, Nicolas Maduro. Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets, has been indicted on charges of misusing confidential government information for personal gain, theft of non-public government information, and fraud. According to the indictment, Van Dyke created a Polymarket account in late December 2025 and placed 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 bets, which totaled $33,000, yielded winnings of approximately $400,000. US Attorney Jay Clayton stated that Van Dyke's actions constituted a clear case of insider trading, which is prohibited under federal law. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke. The agency's Chairman, Mike Selig, noted that Van Dyke's actions jeopardized US national security and put the lives of American service members at risk. Following 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 into a brokerage account. The investigation revealed that Van Dyke attempted to conceal his identity by asking Polymarket to delete his account and changing his email address. Polymarket cooperated with the investigation, stating that it had identified Van Dyke's suspicious activity and referred the matter to the DOJ. The incident has drawn commentary from US President Donald Trump, who expressed his disapproval of the use of confidential information for betting purposes, likening the global situation to a casino.