A U.S. Special Forces soldier who participated in the raid to capture Venezuelan President

Nicholas Maduro has been charged with using classified information about the operation

to win more than $400,000 on the online betting platform polymarket.

The Justice Department said U.S. Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke was charged with

unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain and theft of non-public

government information. Van Dyke also faces charges of commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction.

The DOJ alleges Van Dyck created an account on the crypto betting platform Polymarket on

December 26, 2025, and made around 13 bets on Maduro and Venezuela-related markets.

The soldier allegedly bet a total of around $33,034 on yes outcomes and questions about

U.S. military action or invasion targeting Venezuela before January 31, 26.

As a result of these bets, Van Dyke allegedly profited approximately $409,881 after U.S.

Special Forces conducted a raid on Caracas and captured Maduro and his wife from the

Venezuelan leader's residence. The soldier then allegedly sent his winnings to a foreign

cryptocurrency vault before depositing

them into a newly created online brokerage account. In a statement issued on X, Polymarket wrote,

quote, last month we published our enhanced market integrity rules to combat insider trading. When we

identified a user trading on classified government information,

we referred the matter to the DOJ and cooperated with their investigation. For more on this story,

check out the article at the link in the description.