Mexico says it may sue Google if they insist on changing “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America” 

Google renaming the “Gulf of Mexico” as the “Gulf of America” on US maps might result in a legal battle with Mexico. According to a CNN News publication on February 17, 2025, President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, in a February 17 press conference, stated that Mexico was sending a letter to the tech giant stating the following:

"Any reference to the ‘Gulf of America’ initiative on your Google Maps platform must be strictly limited to the marine area under U.S. jurisdiction.”

The letter read further:

“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,”

The dispute arose when President Donald Trump, in an executive order signed on January 20, 2025, effected a name change of the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America.”

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More details on Google Maps' “Gulf of America” controversy

A section of Trump’s executive order read:

“The area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico has long been an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation and has remained an indelible part of America,”

It further read:

“And in recognition of this flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to our Nation’s economy and its people, I am directing that it officially be renamed the Gulf of America.”

Following the executive order, Google Maps listed the body of water as the “Gulf of America” for US-based users. In a statement released on February 10, 2025, the tech company added that users in Mexico will see “Gulf of Mexico” while the rest of the world will see both names.

In the February 17 press conference, President Sheinbaum stated that President Trump’s executive order to change the “Gulf of Mexico” only applied to the part of the body of water that was under American control. Sheinbaum told reporters that Google’s decision to rename the entire body of water, including the continental shelf under Mexican and Cuban jurisdiction, was not provided for under Trump’s order.

“What Google is doing here is changing the name of the continental shelf of Mexico and Cuba, which has nothing to do with Trump’s decree, which applied only to the US continental shelf.”

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The Mexican President reiterated that Mexico does not agree with the new development, as the renaming only applied to the US continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico—a 22-nautical mile extension from the US Coast. Sheinbaum stated that Google’s response to the terms stated in their letter would determine the course of their legal action.