CNN
—

Mexico plans to take legal action against Google if the company continues to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America for users in the United States. President Claudia Sheinbaum stated this on Monday, contending that an order from former President Donald Trump to rename the body of water only applies to the area of the continental shelf under U.S. jurisdiction.

“What Google is doing here is altering the name associated with the continental shelf of Mexico and Cuba, which is not applicable under Trump’s directive that was only relevant to the U.S. continental shelf,” Sheinbaum told journalists. “We oppose this change, and our Foreign Minister will be sending a new letter regarding this matter.”

Sheinbaum emphasized that the renaming is “inaccurate,” highlighting that Trump’s order “applied solely to his own continental shelf, which extends 22 nautical miles from the U.S. coast—not the entire Gulf.”

Just last week, Google changed the designation of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America for its U.S. users on Google Maps, claiming it follows “a long-standing practice of name updates based on official governmental sources.” Users in Mexico still see the body of water labeled as the Gulf of Mexico, while other countries display both names.

Sheinbaum initially threatened legal action against Google last week, mentioning that a civil lawsuit could be a possibility if the tech company does not rectify what she described as an “inaccurate labeling.”

CNN has reached out to Google for a statement on this issue.

At the press conference on Monday, Sheinbaum shared a statement from Google regarding a letter Mexico sent to the company in January, challenging the newly assigned name.

“As we previously announced two weeks ago, and in alignment with our product policies, we are beginning to implement changes in Google Maps. We confirm that users in Mexico will continue to see ‘Gulf of Mexico,’” the communication from Google stated.

“Individuals in the U.S. will view ‘Gulf of America’. All other users will see both designations,” the letter further clarified.

Sheinbaum announced that Mexico is sending a follow-up letter to Google, stating that “any mention of the ‘Gulf of America’ labeling on your Google Maps platform should be strictly confined to the marine area that falls under U.S. jurisdiction.”

“Any reference beyond this designated area exceeds the authority of any national government or private organization. If this occurs, the Government of Mexico will take necessary legal measures,” it concluded.

Sheinbaum mentioned that Mexico will await a response from Google before proceeding with any legal actions.