Uruguay's Mujica - Guantanamo turned inmates 'halfway into vegetables'

Uruguay's President Jose Mujica reacts during an interview with Reuters at his farm in the outskirts of Montevideo, February 25, 2015. REUTERS/Andres Stapff

MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Six former Guantanamo Bay prisoners sent to Uruguay as part of a push by President Barack Obama to close the U.S. military's prison camp in Cuba were "turned halfway into vegetables" during their detention, outgoing President Jose Mujica said on Wednesday.

In an interview four days before his predecessor Tabare Vazquez takes office, Mujica said the six men lacked the strength to learn Spanish and integrate.