Uruguay President Says Fidel Castro Mentally Sharp Uruguay's president has met with Fidel Castro and says the retired Cuban leader is mentally sharp as he nears his 87th birthday. Jose Mujica says he found "an elderly man who continues to be brilliant, always a promoter of ideas." Mujica told reporters on Thursday that they had a wide-ranging conversation about "everything" in their meeting late Wednesday. The Uruguayan president is in Cuba to attend celebrations of the 60th anniversary of a failed attack on a military barracks that is considered the start of Castro's revolution. Mujica also met with Castro's younger brother Raul, Cuba's current president.