Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has voiced her strong disagreement with Google’s decision to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico on Google Maps. On Thursday, Sheinbaum criticized Google for accepting U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to rename the Gulf as the “Gulf of America,” stating that the U.S. cannot unilaterally change the name of a body of water that Mexico and Cuba share.
This name change is set to happen after Google announced on Monday that, once officially updated by the U.S. Geographic Names System, the Gulf will appear as the “Gulf of America” on Google Maps for U.S. users. However, users in Mexico will still see the “Gulf of Mexico” on the map, and both names will appear internationally outside the two countries.
Sheinbaum argued that the U.S. has no legal authority to change the name of the Gulf due to international agreements like the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. According to this agreement, a country’s sovereignty only extends 12 nautical miles from its coastline. Sheinbaum emphasized that this means the U.S. can only change the name of the Gulf within its own territorial waters, not the entire Gulf.
In a playful remark, Sheinbaum previously suggested that if countries were to start renaming things, North America could be called “Mexican America” based on a 1607 map of the region.
Mexico has also asked Google to show a map featuring the name “Mexican America,” further emphasizing the country’s position on the issue.
This move from Google has stirred up tension between the U.S. and Mexico, as Sheinbaum stands firm on protecting the name and territorial rights of Mexico’s waters.