Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday the country will send Google a letter asking about the technology giant’s decision to soon change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America.”
“To change the name of an international sea, it is not a country that changes it. It is an international organization that does this. So, we are sending this letter to Google today,” Sheinbaum said in a press conference Wednesday, according to a translation by Al Jazeera.
Google said on Monday it plans to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” once it is updated in the U.S. Geographic Names System.
President Trump ordered the name change last week on the day of his inauguration, making good on a campaign promise.
Google said earlier this week it received a few inquiries about naming within Google Maps, writing on X, “We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.”
Under the changes, just the Gulf of Mexico label will be shown on Google Maps in Mexico, while those outside of the U.S. and Mexico will see both names.
The Hill reached out to Google Wednesday for further comment.
“By the way, we are also going to ask for ‘América Mexicana’ to appear on the map. When you write ‘América Mexicana, it may appear on the map,” Sheinbaum added Wednesday.
Earlier this month, Sheinbaum mocked Trump by suggesting North America should be renamed “América Mexicana” or “Mexican America,” as it is labeled on an 1814 document that was published before Mexico’s constitution.
