MEXICO CITY (AP) — Maverick presidential candidate Jaime Rodriguez was greeted with derision when he said Mexico should cut the hands off officials who steal.

But in a country wracked by vigilante movements and drug-gang violence, the proposal has quickly had a grisly echo.

The candidate known as "El Bronco" made the proposal in a presidential debate this week. The sign-language translation showing the interpreter making a slashing motion was widely shared on social media in Mexico.

Authorities in the southern state of Guerrero said late Monday a hacked-up body was found in the resort city of Acapulco next to hand-lettered signs, one of which referred to Rodriguez's proposal.

It read: "El Bronco said, cut the hands off the scum that steals," and was signed "yours, the Grave Diggers."