US Authorities Arrest Army Green Beret Over Alleged Insider Trading on Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has taken action against a high-ranking Army official, Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke, for allegedly exploiting classified information to place wagers on a sensitive military operation in Venezuela. The operation aimed to apprehend former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. According to the indictment, Van Dyke utilized his knowledge of the impending raid to place $33,000 in bets on Polymarket, ultimately winning approximately $400,000. US Attorney Jay Clayton stated that Van Dyke's actions constitute a clear case of insider trading, which is illegal under federal law. The accused created a Polymarket account in late December 2025 and placed 13 bets between then and early January 2026, anticipating the outcome of the US military operation in Venezuela. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke. CFTC Chairman Mike Selig emphasized that Van Dyke's actions compromised US national security and put the lives of American service members at risk. As an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces, Van Dyke was involved in the planning and execution of the operation to detain Maduro. Following the raid, Van Dyke allegedly withdrew his winnings, converted them to a bridged version of USDC, 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 requesting Polymarket to delete his account and changing his email address. Polymarket cooperated with the DOJ investigation, stating that they had identified the suspicious activity and referred the matter to the authorities. US President Donald Trump expressed his disapproval of using confidential information for betting purposes, describing the world as having become 'a casino.'