Who is Gannon Ken Van Dyke? US special ops soldier charged with betting on Maduro's removal

Operation Absolute Resolve, which was executed to capture Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in January 2026, has taken a new twist.

The Department of Justice on Thursday, April 23, revealed that it had detained a US Army Special Operations soldier named Gannon Ken Van.

According to investigators, Van Dyke allegedly used classified information to place bets on the online platform Polymarket.

Who is Gannon Ken Van Dyke?

Gannon Ken Van Dyke is an active-duty soldier serving in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, earning over $409,000 as a result of his bets, per DOJ statement.

The DOJ has charged Van Dyke after he allegedly made betting trades on a crypto-backed platform, Polymarket, on the basis of available evidence.

The DOJ officials said, “This is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law.”

The federal investigators believe Gannon Ken Van Dyke bet more than $33,000 on Polymarket just days before Operation Absolute Resolve.

Van Dyke faced an indictment on charges that include unlawful use of confidential information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, and wire fraud.

How did Van Dyke bet on Maduro's capture?

As per Van Dyke's indictment, after placing the bets, he saw reports about unusual trading linked with the mission (Op Absolute Resolve).

Then, Van Dyke allegedly attempted to hide the evidence of the trades by trying to delete his Polymarket account.

He also renamed the email address linked to his Polymarket.

“Rather than safeguard that information as he was obligated to do, VAN DYKE decided to use that classified information to place trades on a prediction market platform for his personal profit,” the indictment said.

The statement added further, “VAN DYKE subsequently tried to conceal his unlawful use of classified U.S. Government information by attempting to obscure the source of his unlawful proceeds and to disguise his connection to the accounts linked to the illicit trades.”

Although the indictment did not mention further details about Van Dyke’s involvement in the raid, federal prosecutors observed that he was snapped on the deck of the USS Iwo Jima.

This ship is an assault ship where Maduro was moved to following the raid, wearing military fatigues and holding a rifle alongside other service members.

According to Polymart, a trader who created an account in December 2025 bet $33,933 across four predictions linked to the U.S. raid of Venezuela that led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro, per the ABC News report.

The largest position—a $32,537 bet that Maduro would be removed from office by January 31—resulted in a 1,242% profit of $404,222, the outlet reported.