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

The Department of Justice has indicted a master sergeant in the US Army, alleging that he utilized sensitive government information to place wagers on the outcome of a military operation in Venezuela. The operation aimed to apprehend Nicolas Maduro, the former Venezuelan leader. Gannon Ken Van Dyke is accused of using his knowledge of the impending raid to place bets worth $33,000 on Polymarket, ultimately winning approximately $400,000. According to US Attorney Jay Clayton, 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 on contracts related to the potential US military action in Venezuela. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing a complaint against Van Dyke, with Chairman Mike Selig stating that the defendant's actions compromised US national security and put the lives of American service members at risk. Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces, was involved in the planning and execution of the operation to detain Maduro. Following the raid, he 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 claims that Van Dyke attempted to conceal his identity by asking Polymarket to delete his account and changing his email address. Polymarket has stated that it cooperated with the DOJ investigation after identifying a user trading on classified government information. US President Donald Trump has also commented on the issue, expressing his disapproval of the use of confidential information for betting purposes.