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

The US Department of Justice has taken action against a high-ranking Army official, Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke, for allegedly exploiting classified information for personal financial gain. Van Dyke, a member of the elite US Army Special Forces, is accused of using his knowledge of an impending military operation in Venezuela to place substantial bets on the outcome, ultimately yielding a profit of approximately $400,000. The indictment, which was unsealed on Thursday, charges Van Dyke with unlawfully utilizing confidential government information, theft of non-public government data, and fraud. According to the allegations, Van Dyke created an account on the betting platform Polymarket in late December 2025 and placed 13 bets between then and early January 2026, speculating on the likelihood of US forces landing in Venezuela, removing Nicolas Maduro from power, and other related events. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke in federal court, with the agency's 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, who was involved in the planning and execution of the military operation, allegedly attempted to conceal his identity and actions by withdrawing his winnings, converting them to a cryptocurrency, and transferring the funds to a brokerage account. The case has drawn attention to the issue of insider trading and the use of classified information for personal gain, with US President Donald Trump weighing in on the matter and expressing his disapproval of the practice.