Lincoln Diaz-Balart

Lincoln Diaz-Balart

Lincoln Diaz-Balart Rafael (* 13. August 1954 in Havana , Cuba as Lincoln Rafael Díaz-Balart Caballero ) is an American politician and lawyer. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives for the Republicans from 1993 to 2011 as a member of the 21st constituency of the state of Florida .

Political career

He is the son of the late Cuban politician Rafael Díaz-Balart and nephew of Mirta Díaz-Balart , Fidel Castro's first wife . He attended the American School in the Spanish capital, Madrid , the New College of Florida , the University of Cambridge and Case Western Reserve University . Before joining the House of Representatives, he worked as a lawyer. From 1987 to 1989 he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives and from 1989 to 1992 the Florida Senate .

In 2000 and 2002 he was re-elected with no opposing candidates. In 2004 and 2006 he challenged Frank J. Gonzalez, who ran for the Libertarian Party in 2004 and for the Democrats in 2006, but was unsuccessful on both occasions.

Lincoln Diaz-Balart was a promoter of the Homeland Security Act , which came into being in the face of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks . He is also a strong advocate of a comprehensive reform of immigration policy .

Diaz-Balart is married and has two children. His brother Mario Diaz-Balart is also a member of Congress and represents the 25th District of Florida. On February 11, 2010, Lincoln Diaz-Balart announced that he would not run again in the November election of the same year. Mario Diaz-Balart then declared that he wanted to change the district in order to succeed his brother.

Cuba

Diaz-Balart plays a crucial role in the Cuban-American lobby. He campaigned actively, but in vain, for the then six-year-old Cuban boy Elián González to stay in the United States, who fled with his mother across the sea to Florida, where his mother was killed and his father, who had remained in Cuba, returned his Son to Cuba. He is a member of the Congress Committee for a Democratic Cuba ( Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus ).

Diaz-Balart he advocated the sea blockade and military action against Cuba. He also called on the United States to assassinate his aunt's ex-husband, Fidel Castro. Diaz-Balart defended Velentin Hernández, who was accused of being involved in the murder of Luciano Nieves, an exiled Cuban activist who advocated negotiations with the Cuban government. He was also very committed to the release of the Cuban exile Orlando Bosch , who was accused of participating in the bombing of Cubana flight 455 , in which 73 people were killed. He was a co-organizer of the Orlando Bosch Day to achieve his release. Together with Ileana Ros-Lehtinen , he also tried to prevent ex-US President Jimmy Carter from visiting Cuba in 2002.

Haiti

Diaz-Balart was also an advocate for better treatment for Haitian immigrants. He was a staunch advocate of the so-called HRIFA laws, which meant that many Haitian immigrants gained legal status. Later, he called for Haitian nationals in the status of the provisional protection record (Temporary Protected Status (TPS)) having an immediate and temporary ban on deportations granted.

See also

• Relations between Cuba and the United States
• List of Cubans in Exile in the United States

Web links

• Lincoln Diaz-Balart in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lincoln Diaz-Balart - United States Congressman ( Memento of the original from April 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ^ The Hill: Mario Diaz-Balart confirms switch, will run for his brother's House seat
3. ^ Politicization of Elian Gonzalez Often at Cross-Purposes With Law . Recorded by CNN.
4. ↑ Ann Louise Bardach. Cuba confidential . P. 50
5. ↑ Congressman Diaz-Balart Says US Should Consider Assassination of Fidel Castro ( Memento of the original of October 12, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Wayne Smith. CIP senior fellow. March 31, 2004. 
6. ↑ Our Man's in Miami . Patriot or terrorist? Washington Post. April 17, 2005.
7. ↑ The ghost of terror past ( Memento of the original from May 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Salon.com. • Who is a terrorist? South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Wayne S. Smith. May 31, 2002. ° Congressman Diaz-Balart Says US Should Consider Assassination of Fidel Castro ( Memento of the original from October 12, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Wayne Smith. CIP senior fellow. March 31, 2004. 
   
    
8. ↑ Ann Louise Bardach. Cuba confidential . P. 351. "Ignoring the growls of the Reich team and attempts by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart to block the visit, the Bush administration reluctantly granted approval"
   • Will Jimmy Carter Become First President to Visit Castro in Cuba? CNN records.
9. ↑ Lincoln Diaz-Balart - United States Congressman ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.