Mexico has taken legal action against Google after the tech company updated its U.S. version of Google Maps to reflect the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Friday.
Speaking during her regular morning press briefing, Sheinbaum confirmed, “The lawsuit has already been filed,” though she did not specify the location or date of the legal filing.
This move follows a controversial vote in the House of Representatives on Thursday, where Republican lawmakers backed a bill that would formally enshrine Donald Trump’s directive renaming the body of water. The legislation, introduced by Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, passed largely along party lines. The only Republican to oppose it was Nebraska’s Don Bacon, whose seat is considered vulnerable.
While the bill would legally mandate the name change for use by federal agencies, it faces slim prospects in the Senate, where it would require Democratic backing. Even if passed, international recognition of the name would not be guaranteed, as foreign governments are not bound by U.S. nomenclature.
In February, Sheinbaum had already warned Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, that legal steps were on the table if it did not revert the name back to the Gulf of Mexico on its platform. Her administration maintains that the executive order signed by Trump does not extend beyond the maritime boundaries of the United States.
“All we want is for the decree issued by the US government to be complied with,” Sheinbaum said.
“The US government only calls the portion of the US continental shelf the Gulf of America, not the entire gulf, because it wouldn’t have the authority to name the entire gulf,” she added.
In a pointed response to Trump’s move, Sheinbaum jokingly proposed renaming the United States as “América Mexicana”—Mexican America—citing historical maps from before 1848, when a large portion of Mexico’s territory was annexed by the U.S.
Amid escalating trade disputes fueled by Trump’s tariff policies targeting Mexico, both countries are currently in negotiations aimed at calming diplomatic friction.
{Matzav.com}