Mexico threatens to sue Google after the company changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico for all users in the United States.

Donald Trump decided in January that the water south of the United States should be called the American Gulf, and soon afterwards Google obeyed the president's order and changed the name in its mapping service for all users in the United States.

”"We have a conflict with Google right now. And if necessary, we will resort to civil litigation," said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum at a press conference, according to the AFP news agency.

She claims that Trump's presidential decree only applies to the part of the Gulf that is within US territory, and that the rest of the Gulf is still called the Gulf of Mexico even in the US.

”Our message to Google is: Check the executive order signed by President Trump.”

The Mexican government has already sent a written protest to the American tech giant.

”If they continue to be persistent, so will we,” says Sheinbaum.

Referring to Trump, she says, more jokingly, that Mexico may start calling the United States "Mexican America," referring to how the map was drawn before the United States' war against Mexico in 1848.

While American users will be named the American Gulf, those in Mexico will still see the Gulf of Mexico, while the rest of the world will see both names.

Trump has the right to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico, but only in the United States, no other country has to follow his orders. However, the White House believes so.

”"It is a fact that this body of water is called the American Gulf. It is very important, not only to us but to the whole world," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.

 That statement came after criticism that the White House had refused access to the AP news agency - because it had not changed the name in international texts.

The move drew strong criticism from a wide range of media outlets, but Leavitt continued to defend the decision:

”We reserve the right to decide who is allowed into the Oval Office.”

AP is not alone in its decision; among others, The New York Times and The Washington Post continue with the name Gulf of Mexico, while Fox News has changed the name.

The name dispute will likely continue, even across the Rio Grande, the river that runs along a large part of the land border between the United States and Mexico. Unless there is a fight there too.

For Rio Grande? That's the American name. In Mexico, the river is called Rio Bravo.

Source: TT-DI.SE