The Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has written a formal letter to Google asking the big tech company to reconsider its decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico. The president argues that under international law (specifically the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS), a country's full sovereign control over its coastal waters only goes up to 12 nautical miles (about 22 kilometres) from its shoreline.
This implies that Trump administration or the U.S. cannot legally rename the body of water from “Gulf of Mexico”—which has been used for hundreds of years—to “Gulf of America.” Recall that the newly elected U.S. president Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename the body of water which is bordered by the US, Cuba and Mexico. According to a research by Mainwave, Trump’s “move is part of his executive orders aimed at claiming U.S. sovereignty and heritage”.
However, part of the letter Sheinbaum sent to Google reads that “[The name change] could only correspond to the 12 nautical miles away from the coastlines of the United States of America.” Within a 12-mile zone, a country has exclusive rights to enforce laws, manage resources (like fish or oil), and control activities (e.g., shipping, pollution).
Meanwhile, beyond the 12 nautical miles, the waters are generally considered international (though countries can still claim rights to resources up to 200 nautical miles, called an "exclusive economic zone"). However, how is UNCLOS and Mexico's objection connect and how does Mexico have the right to challenge the U.S.’s unilateral name change?
Mexico’s right to “Gulf of Mexico” according to UNICLO
Although UNCLOS governs maritime boundaries, resource rights, and navigation—not the naming of bodies of water. Names like "Gulf of Mexico" are based on historical usage and international consensus, not legal ownership. However, the “Gulf of Mexico” borders the U.S., Mexico, and Cuba. So, renaming it unilaterally (e.g., "Gulf of America") would imply disregard for shared history and regional partners.
Even though the name isn’t governed by UNCLOS, Mexico sees this as an attempt to assert dominance over a shared space. Meanwhile, allowing one country to rename the international features could spark chaos. For instance, imagine China renaming the South China Sea.
However, UNCLOS still matters indirectly. While the agency doesn’t regulate names, it reinforces cooperation between coastal states. Mexico could argue that unilateral renaming violates the spirit of collaboration required by UNCLOS for managing shared waters.
Trump (or any leader) legally can’t "rename" the Gulf of Mexico because:
- No legal mechanism exists for one nation to rename internationally recognized geographic features. Names are decided by global consensus (e.g., via the International Hydrographic Organization).
- Doing so would be symbolically hostile and diplomatically meaningless – the global community would ignore it.
Mexico’s objection is less about law and more about respect for shared spaces and diplomatic norms. Although the new name given by president Trump will only be seen as that in the United States. Other part of the World will sees it as “Gulf of Mexico” in Google Map.
President Claudia Sheinbaum joked Mexico might retaliate by demanding Google to rename "North America" “Mexican America” (América Mexicana)—a tongue-in-cheek dig at US dominance—on the Map. She dismissed Trump’s executive order, insisting the Gulf “remains the Gulf of Mexico for Mexico and the world”. “If you rename ours, we’ll rename yours”—but neither would stick”.
