US Army Green Beret Arrested for Allegedly Betting on Venezuela Raid

A high-ranking US Army officer has been taken into custody by the Department of Justice for allegedly using classified information to make lucrative bets on a military operation in Venezuela. Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces, is accused of participating in the planning and execution of the operation to detain former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, while also placing bets on the outcome of the raid through the online platform Polymarket. Van Dyke allegedly created an account on Polymarket and placed 13 bets between December 26, 2025, and January 2, 2026, winning approximately $400,000. The indictment charges Van Dyke with unlawfully using confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, and fraud. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke. The case has drawn attention to the potential risks of insider trading and the use of classified information for personal gain. According to the indictment, Van Dyke attempted to conceal his identity by asking Polymarket to delete his account and changing his email address. The US President has also commented on the issue, expressing his disapproval of the practice of betting on sensitive information.