An American soldier made $400,000 from classified information about Maduro's arrest
U.S. Army soldier Hannon Ken Van Dyke was arrested for illegally profiting by more than $400,000 using the Polymarket platform.
The soldier used classified information about preparations for a special operation to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to place winning bets.
According to documents from the U.S. Department of Justice, the 38-year-old soldier was stationed at Fort Bragg.
He was directly involved in planning the secret operation “Operation Absolute Resolve,” which was conducted on Venezuelan territory.
Despite strict obligations to keep state secrets confidential, Van Dyke decided to use his knowledge of the operation’s timeline.
In December 2025, he created an account on the Polymarket crypto platform, where users predict the outcomes of global events.
The soldier bet over $33,000 that U.S. troops would enter Venezuela and that Maduro would be removed by the end of January 2026.
When U.S. forces detained Maduro in Caracas on January 3, the soldier’s bets instantly paid off.
The total amount of the perpetrator’s winnings was $409,881, which he immediately withdrew to a foreign cryptocurrency wallet. Later, these funds were transferred to a new brokerage account to launder the profits.
Abnormal activity on the platform regarding events in Venezuela attracted the attention of law enforcement and the media. Sensing the threat of exposure, Van Dijk attempted to destroy digital evidence of his illegal activities.
He contacted Polymarket’s support team requesting that his profile be deleted, fabricating a story about losing access to his email.
However, these maneuvers failed to conceal the fact that he had used confidential information for personal gain.
Nicolás Maduro has served as president of Venezuela since 2013, following the death of Hugo Chávez, with whom he had a long-standing political partnership.
Maduro may be held in a New York detention center during his trial
