Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has made good on her promise to sue Google for renaming the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ to the ‘Gulf of America’ on its maps.
The tech giant adopted the name change shortly after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming the body of water between the two countries.
However, the change only affected Google Maps users in the United States. Inside Mexico, the gulf remains the Gulf of Mexico, and outside of the two countries, users can see both names.
Still, Sheinbaum argues the United States overstepped its authority by unilaterally changing the name of the international water.
She said Friday that the Trump administration is well within its right to rename its own territory, but maritime zones controlled by Mexico or Cuba cannot be relabeled by the US, the New York Times reports.
‘What we are saying is, “Google, abide by what the US government has approved,’ Sheinbaum told reporters as she announced the lawsuit, arguing that Trump’s executive order applies only to the maritime regions controlled by the US.
‘We would have no business in telling them to rename a state, a mountain or a lake,’ she added.
The US only controls about 46 percent of the Gulf, while Mexico has control over about 49 percent and Cuba controls about six percent, according to Sovereign Limits, a database on international borders.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Friday that her administration is suing Google for renaming the ‘Gulf of Mexico ‘ to the ‘Gulf of America’ on its maps
The tech giant adopted the name change shortly after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming the body of water between the two countries
Sheinbaum did not offer specifics about the lawsuit against the tech giant in her announcement Friday, but the New York Times reports that the suit was filed in a Mexican court in late March.
It came after Sheinbaum had warned Google that she was considering taking legal action over the name change – arguing that the term Gulf of Mexico has long been internationally recognized and accepted.
In return, Chris Turner, the vice president for government affairs and public policy at Google, sent a letter to Mexican authorities informing them that the change was in line with its ‘longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources,’ after the name change was added to the Geographic Names Information System.
The very next day, though, Mexico’s foreign ministry sent a letter back to Turner – saying that relabeling the entire gulf, even if it’s just for American users, ‘exceeds the powers of any national authority or private entity.’
Executives at Google have not yet commented publicly on the lawsuit, which comes as US lawmakers seek to codify the name change.
A bill, spearheaded by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, to make the change permanent narrowly passed the House of Representatives on Thursday.
It now heads to the Senate, where it is unlikely to pass, according to MSNBC.
The change only affected Google Maps users in the United States
The name change appears to be of the utmost importance to President Donald Trump
Still, the name change appears to be of the utmost importance to President Trump, who reportedly hung a poster of the renamed body of water in the Oval Office and had hats made with its new name.
‘He literally keeps the map next to his desk,’ Greene previously told the Daily Mail.
She then dared any GOP lawmaker to jump out of line and ‘stand with Mexico,’ even though some Republicans are reportedly upset over the measure.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Google for comment.