Mexico cites legal action in push for Google to revise Gulf naming
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum that her government is formally demanding that Google adjust how it labels the Gulf on its Maps platform, after the company began displaying “Gulf of America” in the U.S. following an order from President Trump.
Speaking during her morning press conference on Friday, Sheinbaum clarified that Mexico is not disputing the United States’ right to rename the portion of the Gulf within its territorial waters, but stated that Google must not apply the name “Gulf of America” to areas belonging to Mexico or Cuba.
“Google is already facing legal action. A preliminary ruling has been issued, and we are waiting to see how it progresses,” Sheinbaum said. “The U.S. decree only applies to the section of the Gulf that falls within its own continental shelf, not to the entire body of water, because that falls under international jurisdiction.”
She added: “We are asking Google to label ‘Gulf of America’ where it corresponds—within U.S. territory—and to maintain ‘Gulf of Mexico’ in the territorial waters of Mexico and Cuba. That is what we are demanding to appear on the platform.”
Her comments follow the passage of a bill on Thursday by the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, which seeks to formally rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, aligning with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump. The bill passed narrowly by a vote of 211–206 among party lines.
As part of Trump’s executive order, the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) was directed to adopt the name change for the U.S. portion of the Gulf, which includes coastal waters off Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
Google began displaying the name “Gulf of America” in February for U.S. users, while continuing to show “Gulf of Mexico” in Mexico and other countries. In regions outside the U.S., users see both names. Google has said its policy is to show local official names and that global views may display multiple names based on regional usage and legal boundaries.
Shortly after Google’s update, Apple Maps followed suit by also displaying “Gulf of America” within the United States, though Mexico has not publicly addressed Apple’s decision.
President Sheinbaum had previously sent a letter to Google asking the company not to implement the change, arguing that the Gulf is a shared international body of water and should not be renamed unilaterally. She reiterated Friday that the Mexican portion of the Gulf cannot legally be renamed by the U.S. government.
“We tell Google: respect what was approved by the U.S. government—name only their own territory,” Sheinbaum said.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
