By Armando Hernandez
A special forces soldier was arrested and accused of using classified information to bet on the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduror, obtaining profits exceeding $400,000 dollars, as revealed by the United States Department of Justice.
The soldier, identified aso Gannon Ken Van Dyke, participated in the planning and execution of the so-called “Operation Absolute Resolve”, through which Maduro was captured on January 3 in Caracas and transferred to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
According to the indictment, Van Dyke opened an account at Polymarket in late December 2025, where he placed at least 13 bets related to Maduro’s political future and possible US intervention in Venezuela.
US Soldier Charged With The Use of Labeled Knowledge To Profit From Prediction Market Bets
Gannon Ken Van Dyke allegedly made more than $400,000 procuring and selling on polymarket on the premise of classified knowledge concerning the timing of a US protection power operation to capture Nicolás… pic.twitter.com/528YaGQr8N
— US Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) April 23, 2026
The soldier invested nearly $33,000 dollars betting on scenarios such as “Maduro would be out of power before January 31, 2026.” or that there would be a US military presence in the country.
Prosecutors maintain that these decisions were not speculative, but based on confidential information to which he had access due to his role in the military operation.
“The defendant allegedly violated the trust placed in him… by using classified information about a sensitive military operation to gamble,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “This clearly constitutes insider trading and is illegal.”
After the official announcement of Maduro’s capture, The bets made by Van Dyke generated profits of approximately $409,000.
According to court documents, the military officer subsequently transferred these funds to an offshore cryptocurrency vault and then to a brokerage account, in an attempt to conceal their illicit origin.
In addition, he would have tried to erase traces of his activity by requesting the deletion of his account and modifying data associated with his operations.
Van Dyke, 38, stationed at Citadel Bragg, faces multiple charges, including wire fraud, misuse of confidential information, violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and illegal monetary transactions. The penalties could reach up to 20 years in prison.
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