RedState has written at length about the successful extraction of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro from the country in early January, during a U.S. Special Forces raid known as Operation Absolute Resolve. Under the cover of night, the soldiers accomplished what was called a perfect operation and were hailed as heroes.
Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover, the lead helicopter pilot who was injured by gunfire during the op, even received the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Trump during Feb.'s State of the Union speech. Maduro, as readers might remember, currently sits in a NYC jail cell, awaiting justice.
Night Stalkers Over Caracas: How U.S. Special Forces Pulled Off the Perfect Raid
On Thursday, the Justice Department (DOJ) announced the unsealing of an indictment against one of the soldiers who took part in that raid, as Fox News' Bill Melugin shared on his X account:
BREAKING: DOJ announces it has arrested a US Special Forces soldier who took part in the raid that captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro after the soldier allegedly pocketed $400,000 by betting more than $30,000 on Maduro’s removal on Polymarket.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 23, 2026
Name: GANNON KEN VAN DYKE
According to the indictment, Gannon Ken Van Dyke:
has been an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Bragg, a military base located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In connection with his work, VAN DYKE signed nondisclosure agreements in which he promised to 'never divulge, publish, or reveal by writing, words, conduct, or otherwise . . . any classified or sensitive information' relating to military operations. Starting around December 8, 2025, and continuing through at least January 6, 2026, VAN DYKE was involved in the planning and execution of Operation Absolute Resolve, a military operation to capture Maduro, and had access to sensitive, nonpublic, classified information about that operation.
But Van Dyke allegedly decided to place wagers on Polymarket, a predictive online market, starting on Dec. 26, 2025. That year, Polymarket opened:
binary event contracts [wagers] related to whether certain events involving Venezuela and/or Maduro would, or would not, occur. Those event contracts included the future likelihood of 'US forces in Venezuela by' certain dates, the future likelihood of Maduro being 'out' of or removed from power by certain dates, the future likelihood of the U.S. invading Venezuela by on or before January 31, 2026, and the future likelihood of President Trump 'invokeing War Powers against Venezuela' by a certain date.
Van Dyke reportedly placed 13 "Yes" bets between December 27, 2025, and the evening of January 2, 2026, including on 'U.S. Forces in Venezuela . . . by January 31, 2026'; 'Maduro out by . . . January 31, 2026'; 'Will the U.S. invade Venezuela by . . . January 31,'; or 'Trump invokes War Powers against Venezuela by . . . January 31.' "VAN DYKE bet a total of approximately $33,034 on those outcomes while in possession of classified nonpublic information about Operation Absolute Resolve."
After President Trump announced the success of the Jan. 3 raid, Polymarket paid out the relevant wagers; Van Dyke allegedly made approximately $409,881. He then allegedly converted the ill-gotten gains into cryptocurrency on a foreign exchange and created a new online brokerage account in which to deposit them.
Reports of "unusual activity" related to Maduro- and Venezuela-related Polymarket bets began to pop up on social media and in news stories, though. At this point, Van Dyke allegedly tried to cover his tracks:
On or about January 6, 2026, for example, VAN DYKE asked Polymarket to delete his Polymarket account, falsely claiming that he had lost access to the email address to which the account had been associated. That same day, VAN DYKE changed the email registered to his cryptocurrency exchange account to an email address that was not subscribed to in his name, and which he had created on or about December 14, 2025.
The announcement of the charges against the soldier was made in a joint statement by United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel, and Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the FBI, James C. Barnacle, Jr.
Acting AG Blanche said in a statement:
“Our men and women in uniform are trusted with classified information in order to accomplish their mission as safely and effectively as possible, and are prohibited from using this highly sensitive information for personal financial gain.
"Widespread access to prediction markets is a relatively new phenomenon, but federal laws protecting national security information fully apply.”
FBI Dir. Patel also made a statement:
“Today’s announcement makes clear no one is above the law, and this FBI will do whatever it takes to defend the homeland and safeguard our nation’s secrets. Any clearance holders thinking of cashing in their access and knowledge for personal gain will be held accountable.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle's statement read:
"Gannon Ken Van Dyke allegedly betrayed his fellow soldiers by utilizing classified information for his own financial gain.
“Van Dyke profited more than $400,000 by trading various outcomes related to Venezuela after learning of the operation because of his role as a U.S. Army soldier. The FBI will continue to investigate threats to our nation's security especially from those entrusted to safeguard sensitive classified information and military operations.”
The case against Van Dyke is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York's Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force and National Security and International Narcotics Unit.
The 38-year-old soldier has been charged with three counts of violating the Commodity Exchange Act, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of an unlawful monetary transaction, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
As my colleague Ward Clark wrote earlier in April, the FBI announced the arrest of a former Special Operations employee, who held top secret clearance, for leaking classified information to a journalist who was writing a book.
READ MORE: FBI: Former Special Ops Employee Arrested for Passing Classified Files to Media and Others
Amateur Hour: 'Journalist' Names Source, FBI Hauls Her Away
In response to someone on X asking why the soldier's alleged actions are illegal, Melugin answered:
It’s insider trading essentially by profiting off of classified info but more importantly it’s a serious OPSEC violation. That raid could have gone very badly if the enemy somehow found out the U.S. was coming.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 23, 2026
This is a developing story. RedState will provide further details as more information becomes available.
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