US Army Green Beret Arrested for Allegedly Betting on Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has arrested a serving Army Master Sergeant, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 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 is accused of using his knowledge of the impending raid to place $33,000 in bets on Polymarket, resulting in winnings of approximately $400,000. According to the indictment, Van Dyke created a Polymarket account in December 2025 and placed 13 bets between December 2025 and January 2026 on contracts related to the potential US military action in Venezuela. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke. The accused is an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces and was involved in the planning and execution of the military operation. After the raid, Van Dyke allegedly attempted to conceal his identity and withdrew the funds, converting them to a stablecoin and transferring them to a brokerage account. The incident has sparked comments from US President Donald Trump, who expressed his disapproval of the use of confidential information for betting purposes. The US Attorney's office has stated that Van Dyke's actions constitute clear insider trading and are illegal under federal law.