MIAMI — Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was traveling out of Miami when she learned that Lincoln Díaz-Balart died on Monday. He was 70.
Ros-Lehtinen, who made history as the first Hispanic woman to serve in Congress, released a statement saying it was a sad day.
“The oppressed people of Cuba had no greater advocate for their freedom,” she wrote adding, “He made it his life’s mission to call for democracy and human rights for his native land.”
Díaz-Balart and Ros-Lehtinen were both born in Havana, Cuba, both moved to the U.S. as children, and both had fathers who opposed Fidel Castro. They worked together closely as Cuban-American lawmakers.
“He was the intellectual giant among us,” she wrote. “His knowledge of Cuban history was expansive and impressed world leaders when we met with them.”
Ros-Lehtinen described how Díaz-Balart demanded that political prisoners be freed, that democracy be restored, and that the “cruel and evil regime on the island be relegated to the dustbin of history.”
Ros-Lehtinen said Díaz-Balart’s “influence in Congress on framing the debate on U.S. policy toward Cuba centered on the themes of democracy, freedom, and human rights.”
Ros-Lehtinen admired Díaz-Balart’s wisdom, debate skills, perseverance, and “persuasive ability.” She credited him as “the author of the most consequential pieces of legislation to punish the oppressors of the Cuban people.”
Ros-Lehtinen was certain that “when the history of the freedom movement in Cuba is written, Lincoln’s name and legacy will be properly and deservedly highlighted.”
Ros-Lehtinen represented Florida’s 27th congressional district from 1989 to 2019.
Díaz-Balart served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1986 to 1989. He also served in the Florida Senate from 1989 to 1992, and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2011.
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