US Army Green Beret Arrested for Allegedly Betting on Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has arrested a master sergeant in the Army for allegedly using confidential government information to place wagers on a raid in Venezuela. The sergeant, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, is accused of using his knowledge of the impending raid to place $33,000 in bets, resulting in winnings of approximately $400,000. According to the indictment, Van Dyke created a Polymarket account and placed 13 bets between December 26, 2025, and January 2, 2026, 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 accused is an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces and was involved in the planning and execution of the military operation to detain former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. After the raid, Van Dyke allegedly withdrew his winnings, converted them to a cryptocurrency, 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.