Mexican president taunts possible legal action against Google

MEXICO CITY

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that her government might pursue legal action against Google after it renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

US President Donald Trump followed through with a pledge to rename the body of water bordering Cuba, Mexico and the US with an executive order on his first day in office, which Mexico has criticized from the start.

After Google complied with Trump's orders and changed the name on its maps, Sheinbaum pursued diplomatic measures through letters issued to Google underlying the concerns of Mexico -- to no avail.

Sheinbaum announced Thursday that Google dismissed Mexico’s pleas and her government might take the company to civil courts.

"With whom we do have a dispute at this moment is with Google. They already answered the letter, and we answered them again, and if necessary, we will file a civil lawsuit. Because (they say) that in the United States, you will see 'Gulf of America' and in other places the ‘Gulf of Mexico,’" said Sheinbaum.

Google and Apple have changed their maps and used the Gulf of America to refer to the body of water.

Trump's decree should only encompass that part of the body confined to the US territory and not include the area where Mexico and Cuba are located, according to Sheinbaum.

"If they continue to insist, we are also thinking of even filing a lawsuit, because they are even naming over Mexican territory, which is our continental shelf ... we are already looking at it, observing, what this would mean on the part of the Legal Counsel's Office," she added.