US arrests sergeant involved in the capture of Maduro who bet on the operation and won R$2 million

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, releases a photo of Nicolás Maduro after the capture of the Venezuelan leader on January 4, 2026 Reproduction US special forces sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke, who participated in the capture of Nicolás Maduro, was arrested by federal authorities this Thursday (23) on charges of profiting more than US$400,000 (about R$2 million) from bets on the Venezuelan leader’s impeachment on the platform Polymarket, according to a statement from the US Department of Justice. The investigation shows that the military used privileged information to place 13 bets between December 27 and January 2, totaling around US$33,000, just hours before the official announcement of Maduro’s capture by then-president Donald Trump. The atypical movement generated immediate suspicion in the forecasting market, resulting in a months-long investigation that culminated in the arrest of the command for using confidential data for financial gain. “Our service men and women receive access to confidential information to safely and effectively accomplish their missions, and are prohibited from using this highly sensitive data for personal financial advantage,” FBI Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the statement released. READ MORE: The suspicions surrounding the bet that won almost half a million dollars with Maduro’s arrest See the videos that are trending on g1 ➡️ The gain occurred because he bought the contracts when they were still very cheap, before the disclosure of the United States military operation that led to the arrest of the Venezuelan leader. After the announcement of the United States military operation and Maduro’s arrest, the price of contracts rose rapidly. As a result, the value of the investor’s position increased significantly, generating an estimated profit of US$410,000, according to data from Polymarket. The appreciation occurred because these contracts pay US$1 when the predicted event is confirmed. Those who buy when the price is low and get the right result get a high return in a short time. That’s what happened in this case, as the investor entered before the news became public. Polymarket records show the anonymous account was created last month. On December 27, the investor purchased contracts worth US$96 that would yield a profit if the US carried out a military operation in Venezuela by January 31. In the following days, he made new bets of the same type, always when prices were still low. SEE MORE: It’s #FAKE that a photo shows Maduro with a thin and haggard face at an audience in the USA Where is Maduro? Former president of Venezuela returns to court this week After receiving the profits, the military officer would have transferred most of the money to a cryptocurrency wallet abroad and then to a newly created account at an online brokerage. On the day of the operation, he withdrew most of Polymarket’s allegedly illegal winnings. After the announcement of “Operation Absolute Resolution”, reports of atypical movements began to circulate in the press and on social media. According to the investigation, Van Dyke tried to hide his identity. On January 6, 2026, he requested the deletion of his account on the platform, falsely claiming to have lost access to his email. On the same day, he changed the email address linked to the cryptocurrency account to another one, created weeks earlier and which was not in his name. The sergeant now faces three counts of violating the Commodity Exchange Law, with a maximum sentence of up to 10 years each, in addition to wire fraud (up to 20 years) and illegal monetary transaction (up to 10 years). Prediction markets like Polymarket work with simple “yes” or “no” contracts. Users bet on events linked to sports, entertainment, politics and economics. When the event happens, the contract pays US$1. Otherwise, it loses its value.

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