A new international dispute is brewing—not over oil, trade, or immigration, but over a name change on Google Maps.
Earlier this week, Mexico filed a lawsuit against Google after the Gulf of Mexico was quietly relabeled the Gulf of America on U.S. versions of the platform.
“Google is already being sued. There has already been a first resolution, and it is awaited,” Sheinbaum said at a press conference.
At face value, it may seem like a fight over semantics. But the timing is significant: tensions between the United States and Mexico are already running high over immigration enforcement, border security, and trade policies. This dispute adds another flashpoint in a relationship strained by tariffs, asylum pacts, and serious accusations over the handling of the southern border crisis.
Google has stated the change is part of its location-specific naming policy. According to the company, U.S. users see “Gulf of America,” while users in Mexico still see “Gulf of Mexico.” Elsewhere in the world, both names appear. Mexico’s president had more to say:
“What we are saying is that Google should put Gulf of America, where it is Gulf of America, which is the part that corresponds to the territory of the United States, and put Gulf of Mexico to the territorial part that corresponds to Mexico and Cuba.”
Mexico argues that the “Gulf of America” label should only be used for areas over the U.S. continental shelf.
The U.S. controls about 46% of the gulf, Mexico controls around 49%, and Cuba the remaining 5%, according to Sovereign Limits, a database of international boundaries.“What Google is doing here is changing the name of the continental shelf of Mexico and Cuba, which has nothing to do with Trump’s decree, which applied only to the US continental shelf,” Sheinbaum said in February.
Meanwhile, the U.S. House has passed the Gulf of America Act, aiming to codify the new label into law. The bill now awaits debate in the Senate.
While the outcome of Mexico’s legal challenge remains uncertain, the broader implications are already clear: in the digital age, names are more than labels—they’re flashpoints. What started as a cartographic tweak has now become a symbol of deepening tensions between two neighbors already locked in high-stakes battles over trade, migration, and sovereignty.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY