The Gulf of Mexico may be undergoing an identity crisis due to a lawsuit filed by Mexico against Google this week regarding the company’s renaming of its waters.
On Friday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced the suit, aiming to restore the region’s name to the Gulf of Mexico. This change dates back to an executive order issued by President Donald Trump during his second term shortly after he took office.
The order reportedly only applies within the United States.
Sheinbaum had previously threatened legal action against Google in February but didn’t specify the legal grounds for the current lawsuit.
In February, the President mentioned that since Mexico retains control over much of the Gulf Coast, Trump’s name change should be confined to the “US Shelf.”
“We have sovereignty over the continental shelf,” she stated back then.
Additionally, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs is pushing back against Google with letters urging map services not to mislabel the waters.
Trump issued the Gulf Order on his first day back in office. Both the United States and Mexico have extensive coastlines along the Gulf.
Mexico contends that the Gulf Coast label should only pertain to the U.S. continental shelf. According to Sovereign Limits, the U.S. governs about 46% of the Gulf, Mexico about 49%, and Cuba around 5%. Google Maps now shows the area as the US Gulf of the United States as well as the Gulf of Mexico (USA).
This body of water has been known as the Gulf of Mexico for over four centuries. However, Google made updates shortly after the presidential order, referencing a “long-standing practice” to adapt names based on government sources.
The Sheinbaum case represents an initial step toward reversing Trump’s order in U.S. law. This follows the House Republicans passing the U.S. Gulf Bay law on May 8 by a vote of 211-206, which is now headed to the Senate.
As of now, Google has not responded to the lawsuit.
