US Army Green Beret Arrested for Illegally Betting on Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has arrested a master sergeant in the Army, accusing him of using classified information about a military operation in Venezuela to place bets and win a substantial amount of money. The sergeant, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, allegedly participated in the operation to detain former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and then placed $33,000 in bets on the outcome, winning 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's actions in Venezuela. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke, who is an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces. After the raid, Van Dyke allegedly attempted to conceal his identity and transferred his winnings to a foreign cryptocurrency 'vault' and then to a brokerage account. The case highlights concerns about the use of confidential government information for personal gain and the risks of insider trading in the context of military operations.