Lincoln Díaz-Balart, former Cuban-American congressman from Florida, passes away

This Monday, the Díaz-Balart family announced the death of Lincoln Díaz-Balart, former Republican congressman for Florida in the House of Representatives. His brother Mario, who succeeded Lincoln in 2011 for Florida's 21st District in the congressional election, broke the news.

The Díaz-Balart family has an important legacy in the state of Florida. Hailing from Cuba and related to Fidel Castro's first wife, the Díaz-Balarts carved out a niche in Florida politics in the 1980s.

The family has a long history of involvement in relations with Cuba. Rafael Díaz-Balart, father of Lincoln and Mario, was a relevant political figure who opposed the Castro revolution on the island. He had to leave Cuba with his family in 1958, after which he continued his opposition from abroad.

Lincoln began his career as a lawyer and later dedicated himself to politics. In the beginning, the family clan was registered as Democrats until in 1985 they switched to the Republican Party. In his first electoral bid, he lost the 113th district, and the following time he won the in the 21st, which occupies most of the Floridian coast between West Palm Beach and Vero Beach.

Throughout his journey in the Capitol, Lincoln Díaz-Balart became a key piece in the relations between the United States and Cuba. As the statement published Monday by Mario Díaz-Balart recalls, Lincoln was one of the architects of the lifting of U.S. sanctions against the Cuban dictatorship.