Balart, a prominent Cuban American figure and a longtime Republican politician who represented South Florida in Congress for nearly 20 years, died on Monday morning from cancer. He was 70.News of his death was made public by his younger brothers Rep.

Balart, a Cuban-American Republican politician who defended immigrants and fiercely opposed Fidel Castro’s regime to help restore democracy in his native Cuba while serving for almost two decades in Congress representing South Florida,

Balart, who served in the Florida House, the Florida Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives, died on Monday, according to his brother Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart. He was 70.