US soldier in Maduro raid accused of betting on ouster

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arrest after seizure by U.S. forces — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arrested after seizure by U.S. forces

(Image credit: XNY / Star Max / GC Images)

What happened

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan on Thursday charged a U.S. special forces soldier with insider trading for allegedly using classified information about the raid on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to net $409,000 on the prediction marketplace Polymarket. Army Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke placed 13 bets on the U.S. going after Maduro from Dec. 27 until hours before the Jan. 3 raid, which he helped plan and execute, the indictment alleges.

Who said what

The charges are “believed to be the first instance” of the Justice Department “prosecuting a case of insider trading on a prediction market,” ABC News said. The case, alongside other “presciently well-timed wagers around geopolitical events” like the Iran war, has “ignited broad concern” in Washington about using insider information to rig Polymarket and its chief rival, Kalshi, Politico said.

“The whole world unfortunately has become somewhat of a casino,” President Donald Trump said Thursday about government employees using prediction markets. “It is what it is. I’m not happy with any of that stuff.” But prediction markets “love the president’s unpredictability,” The Associated Press said. And Trump “seems to be a big fan, applying a light regulatory touch” and suing states “trying to ban prediction markets.” The Trump Organization is working to open its own prediction market, and Donald Trump Jr. is a Polymarket investor and a Kalshi adviser.

Article continues below

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

What next?

If convicted, Van Dyke faces many years in prison. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also filed a parallel civil lawsuit seeking full restitution and penalties.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.