Mexico may sue Google over "Gulf of America" naming dispute

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has warned that her government may file a civil lawsuit against Google if the company continues to label the body of water between Mexico and the southeastern United States as the “Gulf of America” instead of the internationally recognized “Gulf of Mexico.”

Sheinbaum, speaking at her morning news conference on February 13, emphasised that Mexico has sovereignty over its portion of the Gulf and that any renaming attempt is limited to U.S. territory, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

“We have sovereignty over our continental shelf,” she said, adding that President Donald Trump’s decree renaming the Gulf only applies to “the continental shelf of the United States.”

Despite Mexico’s formal objection to Google, Sheinbaum said the company has maintained its position. “The entire Gulf of Mexico cannot be called the Gulf of America,” she stated.

It remains unclear where Mexico would file such a lawsuit.

Google previously defended its decision, stating on its X account, formerly Twitter, that it follows a “long-standing practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.”

As of February 13, how the Gulf appears on Google Maps depends on the user’s location. In the United States, it is labelled as the “Gulf of America,” while in Mexico, it remains the “Gulf of Mexico.” In many other parts of the world, both names appear: “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).”

Sheinbaum has repeatedly insisted that the name “Gulf of Mexico” dates back to 1607 and is recognised by the United Nations. She also referenced Mexico’s historical constitution of Apatzingán, which identified North America as “Mexican America.” She used this example to mock Trump’s renaming effort and highlight its international implications.

On February 13, she said Mexico would ask Google to display “Mexican America” as a search result on maps.

This is not the first time Mexico and the U.S. have clashed over geographic names. The river forming part of their border is known as the “Río Bravo” in Mexico and the “Rio Grande” in the U.S.

By Vugar Khalilov