Mexico has filed a lawsuit against Google after the company renamed the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America” on its maps platform, aligning with a directive issued by U.S. President Donald Trump. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced the legal action at a press conference, though she did not share further details. The move follows her February warning that Mexico might take legal steps if the name change wasn’t reversed. The Gulf, bordered by the U.S., Mexico, and Cuba, has historically been known as the Gulf of Mexico for over four centuries.
Trump’s executive order, issued on his first day back in office in January, sought to rename only the U.S. portion of the gulf, but Google applied the change for U.S. users, citing its practice of reflecting official government names regionally.
Mexico’s Foreign Relations Ministry had previously urged Google not to implement the change, emphasizing that the rebranding infringes on Mexican and Cuban maritime territories. Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Gulf of America Act, advancing the legislation to the Senate.
