U.S. special forces soldier involved in Maduro raid charged with betting on the operation

BREAKING NEWSApr. 23, 2026, 10:00 PM UTCBusiness NewsBusiness NewsU.S. special forces soldier involved in Maduro raid charged with betting on the operationThe soldier made more than $400,000 as a result of the bets he placed about the U.S. operation.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavily armed Federal agents as they make their way into an armored car en route to a Federal courthouse in Manhattan on Jan. 5 in New York.XNY / Star Max / GC Images via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleBy Tom Winter, Jonathan Dienst and Steve KopackFederal authorities arrested and charged a U.S. special forces soldier for making bets on the raid that removed Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro from office.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The soldier "bet a total of approximately $33,034" on the Maduro operation, federal authorities said. He ultimately made more than $409,000 as a result of the bets placed on the U.S. operation, an unsealed indictment alleges.In a news release announcing the indictment, the soldier was identified as Gannon Ken Van Dyke. Authorities said he "participated in the planning and execution of the U.S. military operation to capture Nicolás Maduro."The soldier was 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.""The charges arise from an alleged scheme in which Van Dyke used sensitive classified information to make wagers on Polymarket," the statement from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York said.Polymarket did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Asked about the arrest in the Oval Office during an unrelated event, which ABC News first reported earlier, President Donald Trump told reporte...