Who is US national Matthew VanDyke, arrested in India for terror activities?

A US national, believed to be an American mercenary, Matthew VanDyke was arrested in India along with several others, for terror actvities. The allegations against this group of people were that they were training people in Myanmar linked to insurgents. Though no details of these individuals were released, the name of Matthew VanDyke created a stir as he is a well-known figure and was associated with many conflicts. He was also identified from his photos.

Matthew VanDyke is known as an American documentary filmmaker, former journalist, activist and also a fighter. He became known during the 2011 Libyan civil war where he fought alongside rebels and was later captured and imprisoned for months. It is believed that he escaped from there. VanDyke publicly supported revolutions in the Middle East, and North Africa, and has worked as a filmmaker in the Syrian Civil War and fought as an armed combatant.





In 2014, he founded Sons of Liberty International to provide military training, advising, and supplies to forces fighting against authoritarian regimes and terrorists.

On March 10, VanDyke commented on the Iran war and called US operation in both Iran and Venezuela 'weak' as both now hav more 'competent' heads, he said. "Khameini replaced by his more hardline son in #Iran. Maduro replaced by his more competent VP in #Venezuela. Just as weak antibiotics cause resistant and stronger bacteria, weak military action causes resistant and stronger regimes. When you strike a regime, you must kill it," VanDyke Posted.

In a 2025 social media post, he said he was running covert operations with a Venezuelans rebel commander since 2019. "The Venezuelans I work with are true patriots, heroically risking their lives to free their country. Their commander and I plan the missions, and I provide the funding. You may have read about some of our missions in the media, such as Operation Aurora, but the journalists didn't know who was behind them. The Venezuelan team and I agreed to reveal our presence today, on the day of Maduro's inauguration, to let Venezuelans know that we've been fighting for you, and will continue fighting for you, until Maduro is defeated and democracy is restored," the post on Januaru 10, 2025 read.