Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has written to Google requesting the company to reconsider its decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico. The US President Donald Trump issued an executive order to rename the body of water to the Gulf of America shortly after taking office, but this change will solely apply to Google Maps users located within the US; the rest of the world will continue to refer to it as the Gulf of Mexico, a name in use for centuries.
While there isn't an international body governing the naming of water bodies, Mexico contends that the US does not have the legal authority to rename the Gulf as per the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. President Sheinbaum pointed out that any name change should be limited to the 12 nautical miles off the US coastline.
Google is yet to provide a response to the BBC's inquiry about the matter. The company stated on social media that they usually update names based on official government sources, also noting they would similarly adjust Mount Denali to Mount McKinley in the US following another directive from Trump.
Sheinbaum criticized Google's stance, arguing that a private company should not comply with a country's dictate to alter the name of an international body of water, humorously suggesting Mexico might propose other name alterations. She playfully mentioned possibly requesting Google to include Mexican America on the map. The President had quipped earlier about renaming North America as América Mexicana within Mexico's borders and affirmed Mexico still recognizes it as the Gulf of Mexico, regardless of Trump's orders.