Mexico's President Sheinbaum threatens to take legal action over the Gulf name change

By Manuela López Restrepo

Published February 17, 2025 at 4:08 PM CST

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during her daily conference at the National Palace in Mexico City on January 8, 2025.

On Monday, Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum outlined a letter she received from Google regarding the controversy over renaming the Gulf of Mexico.

Last week, the tech company updated Google Maps in the U.S. to reflect Trump's preferred title of "Gulf of America." Users in Mexico still see the body of water with its original name, while all other international users view it with both names listed.

Three things to know:

An Executive Order signed on Trump's first day in office aimed to rename it the "Gulf of America." This decision sparked laughter and annoyance, as well as raised tensions between Mexico and the U.S.
Earlier this month, Sheinbaum shared a letter she wrote to Google with reporters, arguing that the U.S. did not have the right to unilaterally rename the Gulf.
Google responded to her letter, saying that they intended to comply with Trump's order, and expressed willingness to meet with the Mexican government to discuss the issue further.

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Mexico's next move

In a press briefing Monday, Sheinbaum announced that her administration would wait for a response from Google before taking additional steps.

"If not," she said, "we will proceed to court."

NPR's Rachel Treisman reported earlier this month that part of Sheinbaum's argument against the name change is based the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This convention states that a country's territorial sovereignty only extends 12 nautical miles from its coastline.

"If a country wants to change the designation of something in the sea, it would only apply up to 12 nautical miles. It cannot apply to the rest, in this case, the Gulf of Mexico," Sheinbaum said. "This is what we explained in detail to Google."

Dive deeper with NPR:

For more on Sheinbaum, read 5 things to know about Mexico's first female president
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