US Army Green Beret Arrested for Allegedly Betting on Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has arrested an Army Master Sergeant for allegedly using classified information to place bets on a military operation in Venezuela, resulting in significant financial gains. Gannon Ken Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces, allegedly used his knowledge of the impending raid to place $33,000 in bets, yielding a $400,000 profit. According to the indictment, Van Dyke created a Polymarket account and placed 13 bets between December 26, 2025, and January 2, 2026, on contracts related to the US military's actions in Venezuela. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke, citing his alleged misuse of confidential information and endangerment of national security. After the raid, Van Dyke allegedly attempted to conceal his identity and transferred his winnings to a foreign cryptocurrency 'vault' and then to a brokerage account. The case has drawn attention from news organizations and prompted a response from US President Donald Trump, who expressed his disapproval of the use of confidential information for personal gain in prediction markets.