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

A US Army master sergeant, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, has been arrested and charged with unlawfully using government secrets for personal gain, theft, and fraud. The allegations stem from his involvement in a military operation to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, during which he allegedly placed bets on the outcome using classified information. Van Dyke, a member of the US Army Special Forces, is said to have created a Polymarket account and placed 13 bets between December 26, 2025, and January 2, 2026, winning around $400,000. The US Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are pursuing the case, with the latter filing an insider trading complaint. Van Dyke's actions have been condemned by US Attorney Jay Clayton and CFTC Chairman Mike Selig, who emphasized the severity of the alleged offenses. The case has also drawn attention from US President Donald Trump, who expressed his disapproval of the practice of using confidential information for betting purposes.