Claudia Sheinbaum’s statement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to officially rename the body of water
Amid Donald Trump‘s efforts to change the Gulf of Mexico’s name, the President of Mexico is standing firm.
After the 47th president signed an executive order declaring that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed the Gulf of America on Monday, Jan. 20, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters that for the American part of the body of water, Trump can call it whatever he likes. But for the American part only, she said.
“He says that he will call it the ‘Gulf of America’ on its continental shelf. For us it is still the Gulf of Mexico and for the entire world it is still the Gulf of Mexico,” Sheinbaum, 62, said on Tuesday, Jan. 21, per the Associated Press.
Trump, 78, first announced the idea for the Gulf of America on Jan. 7, sharing in a press conference that he thought the change was “appropriate.”
“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America — which has a beautiful ring. That covers a lot of territory,” he said. “The Gulf of America, what a beautiful name.”
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He repeated his intention to move forward with the name change during his inaugural speech on Monday, and later that day, he signed an executive order to make it happen.
According to the White House, the order said “the area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico has long been an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation and has remained an indelible part of America.” It ended by noting, “The Gulf will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping America’s future and the global economy, and in recognition of this flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to our Nation’s economy and its people, I am directing that it officially be renamed the Gulf of America.”
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Lately, Trump has had his sights set abroad. When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as the leader of the country’s liberal party on Jan. 6, the president suggested Canada become the 51st U.S. state.
That same day, Trump posted to Truth Social about his desire to also add Greenland to the United States.
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He wrote, “Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”
One day later on Jan. 7, Trump sent his son, Donald Trump Jr., to Greenland for an unofficial and private visit.
Even more recently, Trump expressed interest in retaking the Panama Canal from Panama. Before he was inaugurated, Trump said he wouldn’t rule out employing military force to do so. In December, Panama’s President, José Raúl Mulino, responded similarly to Sheinbaum — that his country will maintain its authority over the territory.
