---
category: Other
summary: Herrmann was recruited to represent Ora, an Israeli arms-running company,
  in Guatemala.
tags:
- Person
---

[Manfred Herrmann](/people/manfred-herrmann/) was a German expatriate in his 60s who owned an automobile spare-parts company in [Guatemala City](/places/guatemala-city/) known as Sedra. He was involved in [Israeli](/places/israel/) intelligence operations in [Guatemala](/places/guatemala/).[^1]

Herrmann was recruited to represent Ora, an [Israeli](/places/israel/) arms-running company, in [Guatemala](/places/guatemala/). His partner, [Baldur K. Kleine](/people/baldur-k-kleine/), was the representative in Maitland, [Florida](/places/florida/), coordinating activities in [Central America](/places/central-america/). After [Robert Maxwell](/people/robert-maxwell/) took over [Degem](/organizations/degem/), [Rafi](/organizations/rafi/) asked [Earl Brian](/people/earl-brian/) to provide [Kleine](/people/baldur-k-kleine/) with the [PROMIS](/programs/promis/) software, complete with its "trap door." [Kleine](/people/baldur-k-kleine/) then passed the program to Herrmann, who also received the [Israeli](/places/israel/) version of [PROMIS](/programs/promis/).[^1]

Herrmann's Sedra company, in conjunction with [Maxwell's](/people/robert-maxwell/) [Degem](/organizations/degem/), played a key role in implementing [PROMIS](/programs/promis/) in [Guatemala](/places/guatemala/). This involved setting up terminals in offices, railway stations, airports, and even remote roadblocks, as part of a system to track suspected dissidents. This venture was a major success from an intelligence perspective, enabling the tracking of individuals even under false names.[^1]

[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.