U.S. soldier charged with using classified information to bet on Maduro capture operation

Thursday, April 23, 2026Rights & JusticeWell-covered3 frames

Federal authorities charged U.S. Army Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke with using classified or nonpublic government information to place bets related to the operation that captured Nicolás Maduro.
Prosecutors say Van Dyke participated in planning and execution of the U.S. operation to capture Maduro and had access to sensitive information about it before it became public.
Authorities allege Van Dyke placed bets on Polymarket tied to outcomes involving Maduro or U.S. action in Venezuela and made more than $400,000 from those trades.
The indictment includes charges such as unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and an unlawful monetary transaction.
Van Dyke is an active-duty soldier stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, according to the Justice Department and multiple news reports.
The case matters beyond the individual defendant because it centers on whether classified government information was used to profit in a public prediction market, and Polymarket said it referred the matter to the Justice Department and cooperated with investigators.
What remains unresolved is whether prosecutors can prove the allegations in court and what penalties Van Dyke could face if convicted on all counts.

Federal authorities charged U.S. Army Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke with using classified or nonpublic government information to place bets related to the operation that captured Nicolás Maduro.
Prosecutors say Van Dyke participated in planning and execution of the U.S. operation to capture Maduro and had access to sensitive information about it before it became public.
Authorities allege Van Dyke placed bets on Polymarket tied to outcomes involving Maduro or U.S. action in Venezuela and made more than $400,000 from those trades.
The indictment includes charges such as unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and an unlawful monetary transaction.
Van Dyke is an active-duty soldier stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, according to the Justice Department and multiple news reports.
The case matters beyond the individual defendant because it centers on whether classified government information was used to profit in a public prediction market, and Polymarket said it referred the matter to the Justice Department and cooperated with investigators.
What remains unresolved is whether prosecutors can prove the allegations in court and what penalties Van Dyke could face if convicted on all counts.