Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has responded to Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America with a sarcastic counterproposal. Speaking at a press conference, Sheinbaum jokingly suggested renaming the United States as “Mexican America”, pointing to historical maps that showed large portions of present-day U.S. territory once under Mexican rule.
“The United Nations recognizes the name Gulf of Mexico, but next, why don’t we call it Mexican America? It sounds nice, doesn’t it?” she said. “Since 1607, the constitution of Apatzingán was Mexican America. So, let’s call it Mexican Americana?” Her remarks were a direct jab at Trump’s executive order, which claimed the gulf was “an integral asset to our once burgeoning nation” and “a crucial artery for America’s early trade and global commerce.”
Sheinbaum also criticized Google’s decision to comply with Trump’s order, noting that under international law, a country can only rename waters up to 12 nautical miles from its coast. “If a country wants to change the designation of something in the sea, it would only apply up to 12 nautical miles. It cannot apply to the rest, in this case, the Gulf of Mexico. This is what we explained in detail to Google.”
The renaming controversy has sparked backlash in Mexico and beyond, with many dismissing Trump’s move as a symbolic political stunt. While Google has updated its maps to reflect Gulf of America for U.S. users, the rest of the world still sees Gulf of Mexico, reinforcing Sheinbaum’s assertion that Trump’s order “does not change reality.”
