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U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico. He wants the body of water, which is surrounded by the USA, Mexico, and Cuba, to be renamed the Gulf of America. Shortly after his inauguration on the 20th of January, President Trump said: "America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world." He added: "We are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America." The U.S. Department of the Interior declared that it "is proud to announce the implementation of name restorations that honor the legacy of American greatness".
The USA's Board on Geographic Names can change the name to Gulf of America on official U.S. maps. However, there is no international organization with the jurisdiction to mandate the global acceptance of place names. Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum has opposed the name change. She pointed out that the name "Gulf of Mexico" has existed for over four centuries. She also cited the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which stipulates that a country's sovereign territory only extends 19 kilometres from its coastline. She retorted that if there were to be name changes, the United States should be called "Mexican America," as depicted on a map of the continent from 1607.
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