US Army Green Beret Arrested Over Alleged $400,000 Bet on Venezuela Raid

A US Army master sergeant has been arrested for allegedly using classified information to place bets on a military operation in Venezuela, resulting in winnings of approximately $400,000. According to the Department of Justice, Gannon Ken Van Dyke used his knowledge of the forthcoming raid to place $33,000 in bets on contracts related to the operation, including whether US forces would land in Venezuela and remove Maduro. Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces, allegedly created a Polymarket account and placed 13 bets between December 26, 2025, and January 2, 2026. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint in federal court. Van Dyke is accused of violating the trust placed in him by the US government and endangering national security by using confidential information for personal gain. After the raid, he allegedly withdrew his winnings, converted them to cryptocurrency, and attempted to conceal his identity by asking Polymarket to delete his account and changing his email address. The incident has drawn attention from US President Donald Trump, who expressed his disapproval of the use of confidential information for betting purposes.