US Arrests Green Beret for Allegedly Betting 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 military operation in Venezuela to place wagers and win approximately $400,000. The sergeant, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, allegedly created a Polymarket account and placed multiple bets on the outcome of the operation, which was aimed at detaining former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Van Dyke is accused of violating federal law by using confidential government information for personal gain, as well as theft and fraud charges. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke, who is an active-duty soldier based at Fort Bragg. According to the indictment, Van Dyke was involved in the planning and execution of the military operation and used his knowledge to place bets on the timing and outcome of the raid. After the operation, Van Dyke allegedly withdrew his winnings and attempted to conceal his identity by changing his email address and asking Polymarket to delete his account. The case has drawn attention from US President Donald Trump, who expressed his disapproval of the use of confidential information for betting purposes.