Your security resource abroad. 24/7. Sign up for US Traveler Assist coverage.
Your security resource abroad. 24/7. Sign up for US Traveler Assist coverage.
"I travel abroad for business all the time. If anything happened, I would need assistance quickly. So I always sign up for US Traveler Assist."
Your security resource abroad. 24/7. Sign up for US Traveler Assist coverage.
US Traveler Assist (USTA) was founded by three senior security specialists with over 80 years experience in law enforcement with the FBI and US Embassies abroad. The firm was created to address a need identified by two of our founding partners during the course of their long careers in law enforcement. That is, the need to provide American tourists, business travelers and students with an expert, in-country resource in case of a security or safety emergency abroad.
Each of our in-country Points of Contact (PoCs) are former senior US Embassy officials (Legal Attaches) with extensive expertise in local law enforcement and US Embassy procedures, and whose vast network of local contacts are a powerful resource in a safety / security emergency. Our PoCs are based in your country of travel and are managed by Carlos Barron, Global Head of PoCs in our Houston, TX office. US Traveler Assist is a member of the Oversees Advisory Council (OSAC) and is registered with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
No other firm offers direct, on the ground and personal access to USTA’s level of expertise and pedigree. If you get in trouble while travelling abroad, our in-country security experts are there to assist you 24/7. Join US Traveler Assist today and give yourself the peace of mind you need to enjoy your experience abroad.
Global Head of PoCs
Mr. Barron is a 25 year veteran of the FBI, who retired in 2016 to establish US Traveler Assist. In his 25 years of service, Mr. Barron worked in a variety of domestic and international roles, including program oversight over FBI Legal Attaché Offices in Central and South America and providing overseas support of the Legat program in Spain, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. His career began in Tucson and later San Juan where Mr. Barron investigated major Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations operating along the Southwest Border and major Colombian and Dominican Drug Trafficking Organizations importing narcotics through the Commonwealth into the United States (US). Following the events of 9/11, Mr. Barron was appointed by FBI Executive Management as the head of a telephone analysis unit at FBIHQ. In this role Mr. Barron was involved in the review of all aspects communications associated with the 19 hijackers. Mr. Barron’s work led to the identification of other individuals in the US with ties to the al-Qa’ida network.
In 2003, Mr. Barron was promoted to Houston, where he served as the Intelligence Program Manager over the Field Intelligence Group. Later, in 2007, Mr. Barron was promoted to Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of the Intelligence Program in the Houston Division and selected as a member of the Strategic Execution Team. In 2008, he was designated a subject matter expert for SET 2.0 and in 2009 made member of the SET Transformation Team ASAC Field Advisory Group. In 2011, Mr. Barron was assigned as ASAC of the Criminal Program in the Houston Division, consisting of White Collar Crime, Violent Crime, Gangs/Criminal Enterprises, Organized Crime and Civil Rights matters.
Mr. Barron has a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Literature, University of California, Santa Barbara (1989) and a Masters Degree in Spanish Literature, University of California at Davis (1991). He received the Director’s Award for Distinguished Service to the Law Enforcement Community (2004), the HIDTA ISC of the Year Award (2004) and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times (“FBI Races the Clock to Reinvent Itself” - 2006). Mr. Barron was also recipient of the Director’s Award for Distinguished Service to victims of crime (2015).
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