MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that her government wouldn't rule out filing a civil lawsuit against Google if it maintains its stance of calling the stretch of sea between northeastern Mexico and the southeastern United States the “Gulf of America.”
The area, long named the Gulf of Mexico across the the world, has gained a geopolitical spotlight after President Donald Trump declared he would change the Gulf's name.
Sheinbaum, in her morning news conference, said the president's decree is restricted to the “continental shelf of the United States" because Mexico still controls much of the Gulf. “We have sovereignty over our continental shelf," she said.
Sheinbaum said that despite the fact that her government sent a letter to Google saying that the company was “wrong” and that “the entire Gulf of Mexico cannot be called the Gulf of America," the company has insisted on maintaining the nomenclature.
It was not immediately clear where such a suit would be filed.
Google reported last month on its X account, formerly Twitter, that it maintains a “long-standing practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.”
As of Thursday, how the Gulf appeared on Google Maps was dependent on the user's location and other data. If the user is in the United States, the body of water appeared as Gulf of America. If the user was physically in Mexico, it would appear as the Gulf of Mexico. In many other countries across the world it appears as “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).”
Sheinbaum has repeatedly defended the name Gulf of Mexico, saying its use dates to 1607 and is recognized by the United Nations.
She has also mentioned that, according to the constitution of Apatzingán, the antecedent to Mexico’s first constitution, the North American territory was previously identified as “Mexican America”. Sheinbaum has used the example to poke fun at Trump and underscore the international implications of changing the Gulf's name.
In that sense, Sheinbaum said on Thursday that the Mexican government would ask Google to make “Mexican America” pop up on the map when searched.
This is not the first time Mexicans and Americans have disagreed on the names of key geographic areas, such as the border river between Texas and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. Mexico calls it Rio Bravo and for the United States it is the Rio Grande.
This week, the White House barred Associated Press reporters from several events, including some in the Oval Office, saying it was because of the news agency's policy on the name. AP is using “Gulf of Mexico” but also acknowledging Trump's renaming of it as well, to ensure that names of geographical features are recognizable around the world.
President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks at a Housing for Wellbeing event, a government-funded home improvement program, in Mexico City, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
President Claudia Sheinbaum waves as she arrives for a Housing for Wellbeing event, a government-funded home improvement program, in Mexico City, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — Here's a guide that tells you what you need to know about the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix. It's the fourth round of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
— In the U.S., ESPN.
— Other countries are listed here.
– Friday: First and second practice.
– Saturday: Third practice and qualifying.
– Sunday: Bahrain Grand Prix, 57 laps of the 5.4-kilometer (3.4-mile) Bahrain International Circuit. Race starts at 1100 ET (1500 GMT).
The Bahrain International Circuit in the desert at Sakhir was in 2004 the first venue in the Middle East to host an F1 GP. The track will be very familiar to drivers after they did three days of preseason testing there in February. Max Verstappen has won the last two races there for Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver in Bahrain Grand Prix history with five wins.
Verstappen took his and Red Bull’s first GP win of the season after McLaren had dominated the first two rounds in Australia and China. Lando Norris was second and stayed one point ahead of Verstappen in the driver standings, with Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri third.
Get caught up:
— McLaren driver Oscar Piastri took pole in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
— McLaren can be beaten, but Verstappen must be perfect: 5 takeaways from F1’s Japanese Grand Prix
— Red Bull’s Max Verstappen holds off McLarens to win his fourth straight Japanese GP
— Lewis Hamilton tempers expectations as he settles in with Ferrari
— McLaren’s Oscar Piastri wins Chinese GP from teammate Lando Norris. Both Ferraris disqualified
— Lando Norris: McLaren is ready for a title fight between its drivers
— Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari is having a cultural impact far beyond Formula 1
— Red Bull dropped Liam Lawson after just two rounds and replaced him with Yuki Tsunoda.
61 – Verstappen has scored all of Red Bull’s 61 points this season. The last time a Red Bull driver other than him scored a point was Sergio Perez in Las Vegas in November.
50 – Pole sitter Piastri is heading into his 50th race in F1, all with McLaren.
0 – Two-time champion Fernando Alonso is among five drivers yet to score a point in 2025 after he placed 11th in Japan. The others are Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and rookies Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto and Jack Doohan.
“This is probably the first race so far when qualifying doesn’t mean everything. I’m expecting him to fight back tomorrow." — Piastri on his McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
"I’ve been slow this whole weekend, to be honest. I’ve just been off it. I feel like I’ve just never driven an F1 car before. I need to try and find some answers.” — Norris on his performance in qualifying.
“We did everything we could but that was the maximum we could get in qualifying. We struggled with the general balance of the car but also the brakes." — Verstappen on his performance in qualifying.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Haas driver Esteban Ocon of France, left, and Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, right, speak before the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix race at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain gets a pit service during the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix race at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, Pool)
Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan steers his car during the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, left, sprays champagne Second placed, McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, center, and third place McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia on the podium after the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands celebrates after the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands celebrates with his trophy on the podium after the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
