US soldier pleads not guilty to charges of betting on Nicolás Maduro’s ouster

The Guardian reports that Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a US Army special forces master sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg, pleaded not guilty to fraud charges for allegedly using insider information from his involvement in the January 2026 raid capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to place $33,000 in bets on Polymarket between late December 2025 and early January 2026, netting approximately $400,000 when low-probability outcomes occurred. The article provides solid foundational reporting with specific details: the judge's name (Margaret Garnett), the defendant's attorneys (Zach Intrater and Mark Geragos), the five criminal counts filed, the bond amount ($250,000), and confirmation that Polymarket cooperated with authorities while rival platform Kalshi had blocked Van Dyke's account. Independent search results from ABC News, NBC News, Reuters, CNN, and the Department of Justice corroborate the core facts, with DOJ's official statement adding context that this marks the first insider trading charges involving a prediction market, and the CFTC also filed civil charges—details the Guardian article mentions but does not emphasize. The reporting is straightforward and factually grounded, though the article lacks direct quotes from prosecutors, defense counsel, or other named sources beyond the basic case mechanics.