US Arrests Green Beret for Allegedly Betting on Venezuela Raid

A US Army master sergeant, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, has been arrested by the Department of Justice for allegedly using classified information to place bets on a military operation in Venezuela. The operation aimed to detain former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces, allegedly used his knowledge of the forthcoming raid to place $33,000 in bets on Polymarket, ultimately winning around $400,000. The DOJ has charged Van Dyke with unlawfully using confidential government information for personal gain, theft of non-public government information, and fraud. According to the indictment, Van Dyke created a Polymarket account in December 2025 and placed 13 bets on contracts related to the US military operation in Venezuela. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke. The case has drawn attention to the use of classified information for personal gain and the risks of insider trading. US President Donald Trump has commented on the issue, expressing his disapproval of betting using confidential information.