Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is fighting fire with fire following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement about his intention to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Speaking at her daily press conference, Sheinbaum highlighted that the Gulf of Mexico is a name recognized by the United Nations and then displayed the image of a 1607 map in which the region was called “America Mexicana.” “Why don’t we call it America Mexicana? Sounds nice, no?” she said.
It is the latest development in one of the several diplomatic feuds that Trump has ignited before taking office on January 20. “We do most of the work there, it’s ours. We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. It covers a lot of territory, what a beautiful name. It’s appropriate. Mexico has to stop millions of people to pour into our country. We’re going to put very serious tariffs on Mexico and Canada,” Trump said on Tuesday when discussing his intention at a press conference in his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Right after, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she would introduce a bill to effectively do that. “President Trump’s second term is off to a GREAT start. I’ll be introducing legislation ASAP to officially change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to its rightful name, the Gulf of America!” the lawmaker said in a publication on X.
Mexico has been scrambling as it gets ready to deal with the incoming Trump administration. Republicans close to him have even been touting a potential “soft invasion” of the country, which would entail sending troops across the border to eliminate cartel leaders and operatives.
During his 2024 campaign, Trump suggested he’d consider invading or bombing Mexico to fight drug cartels.
Back in July, Fox News’s Jesse Watters asked Trump if he’d consider strikes against drug cartels operating in the country. Trump said yes, although the statement was also interpreted as a potential threat against the Mexican government in hopes of decreasing cartels’ influence. “Mexico’s gonna have to straighten it out really fast, or the answer is absolutely,” the former president said.
Deportations are also playing a large role in the upcoming bilateral relations, not only due to the large amount of Mexicans living in the U.S. who could be expelled from the country, but also the possibility that the Sheinbaum administration receives deportees from third countries.
According to The Associated Press, Mexico would be open to the possibility to do so after initially pushing back on Trump’s wishes. Sheinbaum said last week that Mexico is willing to collaborate “through different mechanisms” although she did not offer details on how they plan to do so.
“There will be time to speak with the United States government if these deportations really happen, but we will receive them here, we are going to receive them properly and we have a plan,” she said. (https://www.latintimes.com/mexican-president-claps-back-trumps-intention-rename-gulf-mexico-well-call-us-america-571518)
