Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has asked Google to rethink its decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf, which is bordered by the US, Cuba, and Mexico, was ordered to be renamed the “Gulf of America” by former US President Donald Trump through an executive order in his first week in office.
However, the new name will only appear on Google Maps for people in the United States. In other parts of the world, the Gulf will keep its long-established name.
Since there’s no international body responsible for naming bodies of water, Mexico argues that the US can’t legally change the name because the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea states that a country’s sovereignty only extends 12 nautical miles from its coastline. Therefore, Mexico believes that only the US’s coastline, not the entire Gulf, could be renamed.
Google has not responded yet to requests for comment but said on social media that it usually updates names based on official government sources. It also mentioned that when names differ between countries, users will see the name that applies to their location.
Sheinbaum criticized Google for following a single country’s order to rename an international body of water. She joked that Mexico might ask Google to change other names too, like calling North America “América Mexicana,” and said that the Gulf would always be the “Gulf of Mexico” to Mexico and the world.
BBC provided this information.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyn1rgngn8o