{"id":591131,"date":"2026-04-24T12:04:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=591131"},"modified":"2026-04-24T12:04:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:04:50","slug":"absolutely-not-ana-paulina-luna-calls-for-pardon-of-army-soldier-indicted-for-betting-on-maduros-ouster-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=591131","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Absolutely not\u2019: Ana Paulina Luna calls for pardon of Army soldier indicted for betting on Maduro\u2019s ouster"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A U.S. Army soldier was indicted on Thursday by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for using confidential intel to bet on former Venezuelan dictator Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s ouster.<\/p>\n

Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke not only participated in the planning and execution of the January raid to capture Maduro, but he also allegedly used information about the raid beforehand to earn over $400,000 making bets on Polymarket, according to a DOJ press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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U.S. Soldier Charged With Using Classified Information To Profit From Prediction Market Bets<\/p>\n

Gannon Ken Van Dyke allegedly made more than $400,000 trading on polymarket on the basis of classified information regarding the timing of a U.S. military operation to capture Nicol\u00e1s\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/528YaGQr8N<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) April 23, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201c[O]n or about Dec. 26, 2025, Van Dyke created a Polymarket account, funded it, and began trading on Maduro- and Venezuela-related markets,\u201d the press release notes. \u201cIn total, Van Dyke made approximately 13 bets [starting] from Dec. 27, 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n

All the bets, over $30,000 in total, were bullish on the United States invading Venezuela and potentially ousting its then-dictator, Maduro.<\/p>\n

After the Jan. 3 raid that resulted in Maduro\u2019s capture, Van Dyke won \u201cseveral\u201d of his bets to the tune of $409,881, most of which he reportedly sent \u201cto a foreign cryptocurrency vault before depositing them into a newly created online brokerage account,\u201d from which he then withdrew the money.<\/p>\n

Following Maduro\u2019s capture and the publicization of Operation Absolute Resolve, reports began to emerge of \u201cunusual trading\u201d on Polymarket. Van Dyke responded by desperately attempting to conceal his identity by, as an example, deleting his Polymarket account.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s since been charged with \u201cunlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Here is the bet that U.S. Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke was charged with placing to win $409,882 \"\ud83d\udc47\" pic.twitter.com\/r4PGTfLjlo<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) April 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cOur men and women in uniform are trusted with classified information in order to accomplish their mission as safely and effectively as possible, and are prohibited from using this highly sensitive information for personal financial gain,\u201d acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. \u201cWidespread access to prediction markets is a relatively new phenomenon, but federal laws protecting national security information fully apply.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s announcement makes clear no one is above the law, and this FBI will do whatever it takes to defend the homeland and safeguard our nation\u2019s secrets,\u201d FBI Director Kash Patel added. \u201cAny clearance holders thinking of cashing in their access and knowledge for personal gain will be held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

What remains unknown is his fate. While he reportedly faces 60 years in prison, some on the right have begun calling for his pardon, including Rep. Anna Paulina Luna:<\/p>\n

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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is stirring debate over the case of the U.S. soldier accused of profiting from insider knowledge of a military operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many Members of Congress are engaging in insider trading everyday. For the DOJ to throw the book at Gannon Ken Van Dyke is a\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/5mR1sIQO9H<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) April 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cMaybe not a popular take but I am calling for this guy to be pardoned,\u201d the congresswoman wrote in a tweet<\/a> published late Thursday. \u201cUnless the DOJ plans on going after all the crooks in Congress currently insider trading, this is simply skewed justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no \u2018justice\u2019 when guys like this get the book thrown at him yet members are illegally profiting every day. I don\u2019t agree with what he did and he should be required to disgorge all the profits however, unless the DOJ plans on doing Congress next, this is not justice,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

On the other side of the aisle are critics like Ryan Saavedra of The Daily Wire, who believes \u201c[t]he answer to people in Congress being involved in insider trading is not to get other people off,\u201d but rather to \u201cgo after the people in Congress too or remove Congress\u2019s ability to trade and prosecute those who find ways to skirt the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s stunning how many people think this person should be pardoned.<\/p>\n

Absolutely not.<\/p>\n

Throw the book at him. He jeopardized the mission and the lives of those who were executing it.<\/p>\n

The answer to people in Congress being involved in insider trading is not to get other people\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/qQhgq2ce3U<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ryan Saavedra (@RyanSaavedra) April 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A U.S. Army soldier was indicted on Thursday by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for using confidential intel to bet on former Venezuelan dictator Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s ouster. Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke not only participated in the planning and execution of the January raid to capture Maduro, but he also allegedly used information about… Continue reading \u2018Absolutely not\u2019: Ana Paulina Luna calls for pardon of Army soldier indicted for betting on Maduro\u2019s ouster<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":591116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-591131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economic-empowerment","category-national-security","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=591131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/591116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=591131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=591131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=591131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}