We learned that former Congressman Lincoln Diaz Balart passed away in Miami. We remember him as a prominent Cuban American figure and a longtime Republican politician who represented South Florida in Congress for nearly 20 years. He was an institution in South Florida and evidence of the Cuban influence in U.S. politics.
What many people don’t know is that his father fought Fidel Castro years ago. My own father once told me. Let me share the story with you:
Díaz-Balart served as Majority Leader of the Cuban House of Representatives and Under-Secretary of Interior during the presidency of Fulgencio Batista. In 1955, he gave a speech before the Cuban House of Representatives in opposition to the amnesty granted to his former brother-in-law, Fidel Castro, for his involvement in the 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks. Díaz-Balart was elected senator in 1958, but was unable to take office due to Fidel Castro’s rise to power on January 1, 1959.
He founded Louisiana Rosa Blanca (The White Rose), the first anti-Castro organization, in January 1959.
The amnesty allowed Castro to get out of prison and eventually leave for Mexico. He started his movement there, added a fellow named “Che” to the ranks and eventually landed in Cuba to overthrow Batista. Diaz-Balart warned Cubans and he turned out to be right although my father said that no one really paid attention to him because Batista’s credibility was gone.
Another interesting angle to this family is that Mirta Diaz-Balart, Lincoln’s aunt, married Fidel Castro in 1948. She had a son by him and eventually divorced and died in Spain recently. Small world and an island with a complicated history as my parents used to say.
Rest in peace, Lincoln. He did a lot to keep the focus on Castro.
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.
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Image: U.S. Congress
This article was originally published at www.americanthinker.com
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