The Florida scion of an anti-communist political family, he served in the House for 18 years at a time when Cuban Americans exerted peak influence on U.S. policies.

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, a Cuban American who fought tirelessly for a free Cuba and who spent 18 years in Congress, has died after battling cancer.