On Jan. 20, United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming the “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America.” Last week, Google Maps officially changed the name of the gulf on its maps, sparking a flurry of memes and conversation on social media, and Mexico is now threatening legal action if they don’t change it back.
In a press conference on Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that Mexico will sue Google if the company does not change the “Gulf of America” label to cover only the portion of the body of water under U.S. jurisdiction, which is just a small portion of the gulf.
Sheinbaum argues that Donald Trump and the United States do not have the authority to rename the entire gulf and that the executive order applies only to the United States continental shelf.
“We’re talking about 22 nautical miles, not the entire gulf,” Sheinbaum said according to Business Insider.
Sheinbaum pointed out that Google has also changed the name of the continental shelves of Mexico and Cuba when those two countries have not changed the name themselves.
In a letter to Google, Sheinbaum made it clear that Mexico will not accept the renaming of any geographical area that includes its national territory or that falls under its jurisdiction.
“Any reference to the ‘Gulf of America’ initiative on your Google Maps platform must be exclusively limited to the marine area under US jurisdiction,” the letter read. “Any extension beyond that zone exceeds the authority of any national government or private entity. Should that be the case, the Government of Mexico will take the appropriate legal actions as deemed necessary.”
Sheinbaum said that it’s possible that the nation could sue Google in civil court over the matter, but they will await Google’s response to their most recent letter before proceeding with legal action.
