U.S. soldier pleads not guilty to charges of gambling on Maduro raid

U.S. U.S. soldier pleads not guilty to charges of gambling on Maduro raid April 28, 2026 / 2:26 PM EDT / CBS/AP Add CBS News on Google A U.S. special forces soldier involved in the military operation that led to former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro's capture has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he used classified information about the mission to bet on Maduro's removal from office — and win.Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, entered the not guilty plea Tuesday in federal court in New York. He has been charged with unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud and making an unlawful monetary transaction.Van Dyke is accused of winning more than $400,000 on the prediction market Polymarket after allegedly betting that Maduro would be removed from office before news of the raid to capture him was made public. Federal investigators believe Van Dyke, a U.S. Army master sergeant, bet more than $33,000 on Polymarket within hours of President Trump's January announcement that Maduro had been captured, sources told CBS News when the soldier was taken into custody earlier this month.The case comes during heavy scrutiny on prediction markets, which allow people to trade or wager on almost anything, as policymakers call for stricter regulation of the platforms amid concerns about insider trading.The Trump administration has been supportive of the prediction market industry's expansion. The president's eldest son is an adviser for both Polymarket and its main competitor, Kalshi, and he is a Polymarket investor. Mr. Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, is launching its own prediction market called Truth Predict. Gannon Ken Van Dyke walks with his attorneys near a federal court building in New York on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. Seth Wenig / AP Prosecutors said Van Dyke was involved in the planning and execution of Maduro's capture and had signed nondisclosure agreemen...