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

The US Department of Justice has arrested a master sergeant in the Army's Special Forces, alleging that he used classified information about a forthcoming military operation in Venezuela to place bets on the outcome, netting around $400,000 in winnings. According to the indictment, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, who was involved in the planning and execution of the operation to capture Nicolas Maduro, created a Polymarket account and placed 13 bets on contracts related to the raid between December 26, 2025, and January 2, 2026. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint in federal court, with the agency's chairman stating that Van Dyke's actions endangered US national security and put the lives of American service members at risk. Van Dyke allegedly attempted to conceal his identity by asking Polymarket to delete his account and changing his email address. The case has drawn attention from US President Donald Trump, who expressed his disapproval of the use of confidential information for personal gain in the prediction markets.