Mexico Writes To Google After Tech Giant Complies With Trump Order To Rename Gulf Of Mexico

Last Updated:January 31, 2025, 16:18 IST

Google said users in the US will see the body of water known as the Gulf of Mexico renamed as the Gulf of America.

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum holds a press conference at the Palace, in Mexico City. (IMAGE: REUTERS)

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday said she wrote to Google challenging the tech giant’s decision to comply with US President Donald Trump’s order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, US broadcaster CNN reported.

“In the case of Mexico, where are we completely sovereign? In the area established as 12 nautical miles from the coastline, and this applies to all countries worldwide," Sheinbaum said as she showed the letter to the reporters.

“If a country wants to change the designation of something in the sea, it would only apply up to 12 nautical miles. It cannot apply to the rest, in this case, the Gulf of Mexico. This is what we explained in detail to Google," she further added.

She also highlighted that she made a counterproposal to Donald Trump to rename the US. “In the end, we requested that when someone searches for ‘América Mexicana’ in the search engine, the map we previously presented should appear," she said, referring to her press conference held earlier this month where she displayed a 17th-century world map showing North America as “Mexican America".

“Why don’t we call it (the United States) Mexican America?"

“It sounds nice, doesn’t it?"

“He talked about names, we too are talking about the name," she had said at the time.

Google earlier this week announced that Google Maps users in the US would see the body of water known as the Gulf of Mexico renamed as the Gulf of America. The tech giant said the move to rename was in line with its “practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources".

The broadcaster said that Google Maps users in Mexico will continue to see the “Gulf of Mexico" on Google Maps. The rest of the world will see both names.

Google said it will also change the name of Mount McKinley, the nation’s highest peak, from Denali.

Mexico City, Mexico

News world Mexico Writes To Google After Tech Giant Complies With Trump Order To Rename Gulf Of Mexico