In a press conference on Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that Mexico will sue Google if the tech giant does not change the “Gulf of America” label to cover only the portion of the body of water under US jurisdiction.
She said that President Donald Trump’s January 20 executive order to rename the “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America” pertains only to its own continental shelf.
“We’re talking about 22 nautical miles, not the entire gulf,” Sheinbaum said, adding that Google is also changing the name of the continental shelves of Mexico and Cuba.
The Mexican government has been discussing this matter with Google since January. Sheinbaum shared her government’s response to Google’s most recent letter on its maps, saying that under no circumstances will Mexico 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.” –“Mexico is threatening legal action against Google over ‘Gulf of America’ map changes following Trump’s order,” Business Insider, Feb 17, 2025.