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.

Balart, a Cuban immigrant from Miami who spent nearly two decades serving his south Florida congressional district and the brother of Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, died Monday. The cause was cancer, his son told the Miami Herald.