Mexico has filed a lawsuit against Google for changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ for U.S. users on Google Maps, following a Republican-led House vote on Thursday to codify the name change. President Claudia Sheinbaum argued that the U.S. only has authority to rename its portion of the continental shelf and warned of legal action unless Google reversed the change.
The Guardian reported that Sheinbaum emphasized, ‘All we want is for the decree issued by the U.S. government to be complied with.’ She further stated, ‘The U.S. government only calls the portion of the U.S. continental shelf the Gulf of America, not the entire gulf, because it wouldn’t have the authority to name the entire gulf.’
In a response to former President Donald Trump, Sheinbaum humorously suggested calling the United States ‘America Mexicana,’ referencing a map from before 1848 when one-third of Mexico was seized by the U.S. The dispute highlights the tension between the two nations over territorial naming and historical claims, with Google caught in the middle as a neutral entity providing mapping services.