American Matthew Aaron VanDyke, arrested by India's NIA last week alongside six Ukrainians for allegedly training Myanmar ethnic militias after illegal border crossing from Mizoram, is a veteran of multiple conflicts. Founder of Sons of Liberty International (SOLI), he has supported fighters in Libya, Iraq, Ukraine, and elsewhere, often aiding Christian communities against perceived oppressors.
Last week, the National Investigation Agency arrested Matthew Aaron VanDyke at Kolkata airport as part of a broader operation detaining him and six Ukrainians at Kolkata, Lucknow, and Delhi airports for entering India on tourist visas, illegally crossing into Myanmar without permits, and training Ethnic Armed Groups (EAGs). (See prior coverage on the arrests.) Months before, VanDyke texted an associate urging a visit to Myanmar, highlighting the Kachin and Chin peoples' commitment to Christianity amid fights against the 'mostly Buddhist military junta.' Pastor Dr. William Devlin, an associate, told Hindustan Times he knew of VanDyke's Myanmar involvement and 'wasn’t surprised' by the arrest. VanDyke founded SOLI in 2015, a non-profit operating in warzones between NGO and private military contractor roles, as described by researcher Pavol Kosnac. After Georgetown University and documentary work, he joined Libyan rebels against Gaddafi in 2011, was imprisoned for nearly six months in Abu Salim prison, and escaped in August 2011. His 2014 film 'Point and Shoot' raised his profile. In 2014, SOLI trained over 300 Assyrian Christians for Iraq's Nineveh Protection Unit against ISIS, supplying gear like body armor—though it lacked US State Department approval, leading some trainers to quit. SOLI later aided Venezuelan opposition in 2018 and Ukrainian forces since 2022. Devlin portrays VanDyke as fighting oppressive regimes with the 'underdog,' driven by concerns over Christian persecution. SOLI's 2024 finances showed shortfalls ($62,000 income vs. $104,000 expenses). Kosnac found no US government ties, deeming operations a 'grey zone.' The US State Department is aware of the arrest but offered no further comment.