Mexico has filed a lawsuit against Google for labeling the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” on Google Maps for users in the United States, according to President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Sheinbaum said her administration had contacted Google multiple times, requesting the company to reverse the change. Despite these appeals, the name remained, prompting the government to pursue legal action. The exact location of the lawsuit filing was not disclosed.
The dispute intensified after the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Republicans, voted to officially adopt the “Gulf of America” name for federal use. Former President Donald Trump had previously signed an executive order on his first day in office to support this renaming, claiming that since the United States conducts most of the activities in the area, it has the right to rename it.
However, the Mexican government argues that the order should only apply to the U.S. segment of the continental shelf and does not give the U.S. the authority to rename the entire gulf.
In January, President Sheinbaum wrote to Google asking for the restoration of the Gulf of Mexico label. A month later, she warned of possible legal consequences if the request was ignored.
Google responded that the name update followed its usual process of reflecting changes made by official government sources. The platform stated that the name “Gulf of America” appears only for U.S. users, while users in Mexico continue to see “Gulf of Mexico.” Elsewhere, the label reads “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).”
The name change has also sparked tension between the U.S. government and media outlets. One news agency refused to adopt the new term, resulting in its exclusion from certain official events until a judge intervened in April, ordering the White House to restore access.
Additionally, former President Trump recently suggested the U.S. may start calling the Persian Gulf the “Arabian Gulf” or “Gulf of Arabia” during his upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia. This proposal has drawn sharp criticism from Iranian officials, who warned that such a move would provoke widespread backlash.