The soldier, who was part of the commando that captured the Venezuelan president in early January, reportedly bet around $30,000 and won ten times that amount. He was arrested.

It was too much and it didn't go unpunished. A U.S. special forces soldier involved in the operation that led to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is now himself under investigation. He is accused of using confidential information to bet on the military intervention and reap considerable profit.

According to an indictment made public Thursday, Staff Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke allegedly opened an account on the Polymarket prediction platform in late December. He reportedly wagered over $30,000 on a scenario considered improbable at the time: the removal or capture of Nicolás Maduro before the end of January.

A few days later, on the night of January 2-3, a secret military operation led by the United States resulted in the arrest of the Venezuelan leader in Caracas, under fire, before his transfer to New York.

The soldier reportedly earned over $400,000

Investigators believe the soldier placed numerous bets between December 27 and January 2, in the days leading up to the operation. In total, his bets are estimated to have earned him over $400,000. He is believed to have initially transferred this sum to a cryptocurrency wallet abroad before depositing it into an online brokerage account.

The Justice Department accuses this soldier, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, of exploiting classified information he had access to while participating in the planning of the operation, codenamed "Absolute Resolve." He faces five charges, including wire fraud, commodity fraud, and unlawful use of non-public government information for personal gain.

"Those charged with protecting our nation's secrets have a duty to preserve them, not to use them for personal financial gain," reminded Manhattan federal prosecutor Jay Clayton.

Trump says he was unaware

The case, initially revealed by American media, had already attracted the attention of authorities following suspicious financial transactions on Polymarket. Officials specializing in combating financial fraud had notably spoken with representatives of the platform.

When questioned at the White House on Thursday, Donald Trump claimed he had not been informed of these accusations, while comparing the situation to that of Pete Rose, the baseball legend banned for betting on his own sport. "The whole world has become a casino, in a way," he added, as he and his associates are regularly accused of insider trading for highly suspicious bets placed in the moments leading up to his announcements.

This case could be landmark: it would be the first prosecution of its kind in the United States concerning the use of sensitive military information on prediction markets. A few weeks earlier, two Israeli soldiers had already been implicated in a similar case.