Former Rep Lincoln Diaz-Balart, brother of sitting congressman, dead at 70

Former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., has died at the age of 70, his brother and current House member Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., announced. 

“Defender of the silenced and oppressed, author of the democracy requirement for the lifting of U.S. sanctions against the Cuban dictatorship, and the author of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA). Lincoln’s legacy of achievements will endure for generations, and continues the work of the Congressional Hispalic Leadership Institute (CHLI) which he co-founded in 2003,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart said in a statement about his brother.

Lincoln Diaz-Balart served Floridians as a member of the Republican Party. The Cuban refugee first got into politics by “leading the Florida Young Democrats and running an unsuccessful campaign for the Florida legislature as a Democrat in 1982,” his congressional biography states. 

He formally switched his party allegiance in 1985 and was elected to the Florida legislature in 1986. Then, he “sponsored laws strengthening sentences for crimes against law enforcement officers, increasing penalties for drug-related money laundering, providing low-interest loans for home construction, creating a statewide program to combat substance abuse, and establishing disclosure rules for Florida companies doing business with Cuba,” according to the biography. 

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Former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., from when he was in office. (Associated Press)

He was sworn into Congress in January 1993 and served until his retirement in 2010. That same year, his brother Mario won the election to succeed him in the 21st Congressional District. 

Diaz-Balart leaves behind his wife of 48 years, Cristina; his son Daniel; two grandsons and three brothers. He was preceded in death by his first son, Lincoln Gabriel. 

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Former member of Congress Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), right, translates from Spanish to English for Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, as House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R- FL) addresses the U.S.-Cuba Democracy political action committee during a campaign event Jan. 25, 2012 in Miami. (Chip Somodevilla)

Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., speaks during a news conference to unveil the new House Rules Committee Republican website, and release the “Out of Order” report documenting the “breakdown of debate, decorum and deliberation in the House at the hands of the Rules Committee” on Sept. 25, 2007. (Douglas Graham/Roll Call)

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“Lincoln’s profound love for the United States, and his relentless commitment to the cause of a free Cuba, guided him throughout his life and his 24 years in elected public service, including 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Mario’s announcement said. “We will miss him infinitely.”