US Arrests Green Beret Over Alleged Insider Trading on Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has arrested a master sergeant in the Army, alleging that he used confidential government information to place bets on a military operation in Venezuela. Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a member of the US Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets, allegedly used his knowledge of the impending raid to place $33,000 in bets on Polymarket, ultimately winning around $400,000. The DOJ 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 in December 2025 and placed 13 bets between December 26, 2025, and January 2, 2026, on contracts related to the US military operation in Venezuela. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke. The agency alleges that Van Dyke endangered US national security and put the lives of American service members at risk by using confidential information for personal gain. After the raid, Van Dyke allegedly withdrew his winnings, converted them to a cryptocurrency, and transferred the funds to a brokerage account. The investigation into Van Dyke's activities began after news organizations noticed that someone had made a significant profit on Polymarket bets related to the Venezuela raid. Van Dyke allegedly attempted to conceal his identity by asking Polymarket to delete his account and changing his email address. In response to the allegations, Polymarket stated that it had identified Van Dyke's suspicious activity and referred the matter to the DOJ. US President Donald Trump has also commented on the issue, expressing his disapproval of the use of confidential information for betting purposes.