U.S. President Donald Trump has weighed in on a case in which a U.S. special forces soldier has been charged by federal authorities over accusations of betting on the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, April 23, at the White House, Trump said he had not yet been briefed on the details of the case but questioned the nature of the bets allegedly placed by the soldier.
“Well, I don’t know about it, but was he betting that they would get him or they wouldn’t get him?” Trump asked while responding to a question.
The reporter went on to inform him that reports indicate the soldier was betting on Maduro’s removal from office.
Trump compares the soldier betting scandal to Pete Rose
While responding to questions about whether he was concerned about federal employees using prediction markets, Trump said he would look into the issue, but focused his comments on the comparison to baseball figure Pete Rose.
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The former Major League Baseball player and manager was banned from the sport for gambling on games, including those involving his own team, which violated league rules regardless of whether the bets were for or against his side.
“That’s like Pete Rose betting on his own team. Pete Rose, they kept him out of the Hall of Fame because he bet on his own team. Now, if he bet against his team, that would be no good, but he bet on his own team. I’ll look into it,” Trump added.
The president’s remarks came after U.S. federal authorities arrested and charged a special forces soldier identified as Gannon Ken Van Dyke, who prosecutors say was involved in the planning and execution of the U.S. military operation that led to Maduro’s capture earlier this year.
According to an indictment unsealed by the Justice Department, Van Dyke allegedly placed a series of bets on the prediction market platform Polymarket using sensitive, nonpublic government information.
Prosecutors said he wagered approximately $33,000 across multiple bets tied to whether Maduro would be removed from office and other outcomes linked to the operation.
Authorities allege the bets generated more than $400,000 in profit, prompting an investigation into whether classified information had been used to gain a financial advantage.
The Justice Department charged Van Dyke with multiple offenses, including unlawful use of confidential government information, wire fraud, commodities fraud, theft of government property, and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions.
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Prosecutors said the soldier participated directly in the military operation targeting Maduro, placing bets in late December 2025 and January 2026 in the lead-up to the announcement of the Venezuelan leader’s capture.
The case is believed to be one of the first major prosecutions involving alleged insider trading on a prediction market platform, which allows users to place wagers on real-world events.
Polymarket responds after soldier bets on Maduro raid
In a statement, Polymarket said it had referred the matter to authorities after identifying suspicious activity linked to the account and cooperated with investigators.
“Last month, we published our enhanced market integrity rules to combat insider trading. When we identified a user trading on classified government information, we referred the matter to the DOJ & cooperated with their investigation. Insider trading has no place on Polymarket. Today’s arrest is proof the system works,” it said in a statement on X.
Federal authorities have not indicated whether additional individuals are under investigation in connection with the betting activity. It was not immediately clear if Van Dyke has legal representation.
The arrest follows scrutiny of prediction markets in recent months, particularly around the potential misuse of nonpublic or classified information by individuals with access to sensitive government operations.
The Pentagon has not issued a detailed public response to the charges, referring inquiries to the Justice Department. U.S. Special Operations Command has also not commented on the case.
The operation that led to Maduro’s capture earlier this year was announced by Trump as a coordinated military and law enforcement effort.
Maduro and his wife were taken into custody and transported to the United States following the operation, which drew international attention and raised tensions in the region.
The case against the soldier is expected to proceed in federal court, with prosecutors alleging that the use of classified information for financial gain undermined the integrity of both government operations and emerging prediction markets.
