Mexico sues Google by renaming the Gulf of Mexico

Miroslav Trinko Geek, specialty programmer, but journalist by profession. Rider, tennis player and fan of Formula-1. I write about technologies, smartphones and electric vehicles.

The Mexico Government has officially filed a lawsuit against Google because of the change in the name of the Gulf of Mexico on the Gulf of America for users in the US. The President of the country Claudia Sheinbaum noted that the company has ignored repeated appeals demanding to return the historical name, writes The Verge.

The change appeared in Google Maps after Donald Trump signed a decree on the Gulf Renamed at the beginning of his presidential term. Although for Mexican users the name remained unchanged, in the US and some other regions the service began to show the inscription “Gulf of America” ​​or “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)”.

The Mexican authorities state that the United States has no right to rename international geographical objects.

“We cannot change the names of parts of other countries, and they cannot change ours. The Gulf of Mexico cannot have a different name,” Sheinbaum said.

Prior to filing a claim, Mexico sent official letters to Google not to use a new name. In response, Vice President of Public Affairs Chris Turner said that Google does not plan to change its policies.

On May 9, 2025, the House of Representatives of the United States adopted a bill, which formalizes the “Gulf of America”. The Trump administration even forbade the Associated Press to participate in briefings in the White House for refusing to use a new name.

Unlike Google and Apple, which supported the initiative, the MapQuest service openly made fun of renaming, creating a special site dedicated to the absurdity of this change.

Mexico insists that the real name – the Gulf of Mexico – must be preserved internationally.