Part of the Cuban-American political dynasty made up of descendants of politician Rafael Díaz-Balart — including U.S. Rep. Mario Rafael Díaz-Balart — Lincoln was the U.S. representative for Florida's 21st congressional district from 1993 to 2011. He retired from Congress in 2011 and his younger brother, Mario, succeeded him.
After leaving Congress, Lincoln started a law practice and consulting firm in Miami.
As a refugee during the 1959 Cuban Revolution, Lincoln was a "leading congressional voice for reform in the Cuban government and for immigrants' rights," according to his biography on the United States House of Representatives website. Upon being elected to the House of Representatives in 1992, he helped enshrine the Cuban embargo into federal law, and pushed for the 1997 Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA), which still provides immigration benefits and deportation protections to Nicaraguans, Salvadorans, Cubans, and Guatemalans today.
Lincoln and his brother Mario were "fierce anti-Communists who are indeed Castro’s nephews by a failed first marriage," as described in a 2008 New Times story about the Díaz-Balart family.
Here's a look back at some of New Times' previous coverage of Lincoln-Díaz-Balart:
"Mr. Diaz-Balart Goes to Washington," by Jim DeFede (1993) In 1993, at the urging of then-Democratic Rep. David Skaggs, the House Appropriations Committee voted to cut all funding for Radio Martí and TV Martí — a total of nearly $28 million. While Lincoln tried to persuade Skaggs otherwise, he wouldn’t budge.
Lincoln warned that if Skaggs didn't leave Radio Martí alone, he would see to it that "every program the Coloradan held dear likewise was decimated," as described by DeFede.
And Lincoln made good on his threat. That afternoon, the Miami congressman nixed a $23 million construction project headed for Skaggs’ district.
"Gotcha!" by Kathy Glasgow (2001)
In March 2000, following a yearlong investigation, the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) made public an eighteen-page report on its audit of Lincoln's campaign for Congress.
The audit revealed "an operation with little regard for federal election laws."
"The report describes a stunning array of campaign finance violations and stupid mistakes, all discovered largely without the help of an evasive and uncooperative Diaz-Balart staff," Glasgow wrote. "Auditors cite dozens of illegal campaign contributions, missing cash, bookkeeping errors amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and failure to report a variety of monetary receipts and expenditures. To top it off, aides never produced all the records and documentation requested by auditors."
"Best Power Family," by Miami New Times staff (2003)
In 2003, the family was voted "Best Power Family" in New Times' annual "Best of Miami" issue, which wrote that the family managed to "carve out a new U.S. Congressional district expressly for an ambitious family member."
The story also noted that the father and grandfather of the politicians "were important members of the ruling oligarchy during the fearsome reign of Fulgencio Batista."
"Politics and Policy," by Kirk Nielsen (2004)
Upon flying into Miami International Airport during the summer of 2004, an angry mob, upset over the harsh new restrictions on travel to Cuba he’d imposed under orders from President George W. Bush, swarmed then-U.S. Congressman Lincoln.
"Under the new rules supported by Diaz-Balart, they could travel to Cuba only once every three years, with no exceptions, and stay no more than fourteen days. Also travelers now would be required to obtain a permit from the federal government for each trip," Nielsen wrote.
"An airline passenger spotted him and soon he was swarmed by an angry mob, some of whom weeks earlier might have smiled and asked to shake his hand," reads a 2004 New Times piece about Lincoln Díaz-Balart.
Miami New Times image
In 2008, Alvarado wrote that the Díaz-Balart dynasty was slated to "almost certainly disappear."
"Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, fierce anti-Communists who are indeed Castro’s nephews by a failed first marriage, will likely lose — victims of the anti-Republican discontent sweeping America," Alvarado wrote. "They are scions of a family that has dominated politics in both Havana and Washington for more than a half-century."
But while the public expected the Díaz-Balart brothers to face tough races, they each won their respective seats by more than 50 percent of the vote.
"Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart Won't Seek Re-Election; Mario Diaz-Balart Will Switch Districts," by Kyle Munzenrieder (2010)
In 2010, after spending nearly two decades representing Florida's 21st congressional district, Lincoln announced that he wouldn't seek re-election. His brother, Mario, would instead seek election to the seat Lincoln was vacating. Mario ran unopposed, then represented the district from 2011 to 2013.
