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,

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.

A memorial in honor of former Cuban-American congressman and South Florida political giant Lincoln Diaz-Balart is set to take place Saturday morning.

His death prompted an outpouring of tributes from political leaders and community figures who hailed his legacy as a statesman and defender of human rights.

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.

Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute Chair Lincoln Díaz-Balart, who served in both chambers of the Florida Legislature before winning a long-held seat in Congress, has died. He was 70. Díaz-Balart’s brother, U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, shared word of his death Monday.