US soldier charged after winning $400,000 betting on removal of Maduro

a us army special forces soldier was arrested and charged after allegedly winning over $409,000 betting on the removal of venezuela's nicolas maduro — using classified information about the operation before it was public. gannon ken van dyke, an active-duty soldier stationed at fort bragg in north carolina, was involved in planning and executing operation absolute resolve, the 3 january night-time raid that captured maduro and his wife cilia flores. the doj says he created a polymarket account on or about 26 december 2025 and placed bets totaling more than $33,000 on maduro and venezuela-related markets while in possession of classified nonpublic information about the operation. "that is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law," justice department officials said. van dyke faces charges including unlawful use of confidential government information, theft of nonpublic information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction. the cftc also filed a complaint. polymarket said it identified the user, referred the matter to the doj, and cooperated with the investigation.