SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK — Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a U.S. Army special forces soldier involved in the operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, was arrested Thursday on charges that he used classified information about the mission to place bets on the Polymarket prediction market. An indictment unsealed Thursday in the Southern District of New York charged him with unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and engaging in monetary transactions from unlawful activity.

Federal investigators believe Van Dyke placed bets totaling more than $33,000 on Polymarket within hours of President Donald Trump's announcement in January that Maduro had been captured. The bets resulted in winnings of more than $409,000.

In the early morning hours of January 3, Trump announced in a Truth Social post that the Venezuelan president and his wife had been captured and flown out of the country. Shortly before that post, a Polymarket account holder placed a $32,537 bet on the likelihood that Maduro would be out by January 31, 2026.

The same Polymarket account placed three additional bets: $1,000 on the U.S. invading Venezuela by January 31; $250 that Trump would invoke the War Powers Act against Venezuela by January 31; and $146 that U.S. forces would land in Venezuela by the end of the month. According to a Justice Department press release, Van Dyke was involved in the planning and execution of the operation to capture Maduro.

"The defendant allegedly violated the trust placed in him by the United States Government by using classified information about a sensitive military operation to place bets on the timing and outcome of that very operation, all to turn a profit. That is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law," said Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York. He added: "Prediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain."

During an Oval Office event on Thursday, Trump said he had not heard about the alleged betting on Maduro's removal but would look into it. "That's like Pete Rose betting on his own team," he said. Trump has defended Rose and said last year he would issue a posthumous pardon for him.

"I'm not happy with any of that stuff," Trump said of prediction market betting. "The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino, and you look at what's going on all over the world, in Europe and every place, they're doing these betting things."

Two Israeli soldiers were charged in February with suspected use of classified information to place bets on the Polymarket prediction platform. Trump also said of the operation: "I was never much in favor of it. I like it conceptually, but it is what it is."