Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Netanyahu: If Lebanese Army takes steps to disarm Hezbollah, Israel will engage in reciprocal measures, including phased reduction of Israeli military presence in Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Photojournalist Houssam Al-Masri martyred, reporters Hatem Omar, Mohammad Ashraf Salameh injured in Israeli strike on Nasser Medical Complex.
Israeli media: Intense US efforts are being made to resolve differences, such as the issue of the Israeli presence on Mount Hermon and in southern Syria
Israeli media: The security agreement means amending the disengagement agreement, which will also address the Druze issue
Israeli media: Attempts to reach a security agreement between 'Israel' and Syria were among the topics discussed at the Paris meeting
Israeli media: Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif rejected a US proposal to join the recent tripartite meeting between Tom Barrack, al-Shaibani, and Dermer
Saba News Agency: Two martyred, five injured in a preliminary toll of the Israeli aggression on the Yemeni Oil Company station on Al-Sitteen Street in Sanaa
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: We observed a state of confusion among the enemy's aircraft squadron after Yemeni air defenses intercepted the attack
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: The Yemeni air defense forces succeeded in neutralizing a squadron of enemy aircraft and prevented airstrikes on some governorates
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: Our air defenses and missile forces forced a formation of enemy aircraft to flee the airspace

Trump officially changes name of Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America'

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 25 Jan 2025 17:57
  • 3 Shares
4 Min Read

The Trump administration has officially renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" and Alaska's highest peak Denali to Mount McKinley.

Listen
  • x
  • US says Gulf of Mexico officially named 'Gulf of America'
    US President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on January 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP)

The Trump administration's Interior Department claims to have "officially" changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America," as well as the Alaskan peak Denali to Mount McKinley.

US President Donald Trump authorized the name changes as part of a flurry of executive orders after taking office on Monday.

The Interior Department announced on Friday that the "Gulf of Mexico will now officially be known as the Gulf of America, and North America's highest peak will once again bear the name Mount McKinley."

Alaska's highest peak had formerly been dubbed Mount McKinley, in honor of former president William McKinley, under whose leadership the US became one of the world's colonial powers.

Trump claimed in his inauguration speech that McKinley "made our country very rich through tariffs and talent."

While Trump may instruct the US government to legally acknowledge Mount Denali's new name, he has no authority over the Gulf of Mexico's name.

As one of the world's largest and most important bodies of water, with a massive economic impact on the region, the Gulf of Mexico has had several names. 

The term "Golfo de Mexico" originally appeared on maps in the mid-16th century, when Spain ruled what is now known as Cuba to the south, Mexico to the west, and the US states that surround it to the north.

Related News

Valery Zaluzhny: From Ukraine top general to presidential prospect

FP: Why the Global South won't pick sides in US-China rivalry

According to analysts, such a name change is unlikely to be accepted worldwide, and any unilateral name change by the US might cause confusion and undermine international accords.

Meanwhile, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) began using the phrase "Gulf of America" to refer to the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, one day after Trump issued an executive order, initiating the process of changing its official name.

The USCG said on Tuesday that it will deploy more forces to several sites, including "the maritime border between Texas and Mexico in the Gulf of America."

Trump's executive order gave the US Department of the Interior 30 days to take "all appropriate action" to implement the name change.

Trump renaming of Gulf of Mexico only applies to US: Mexican president

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday addressed US President Donald Trump’s recent executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America," emphasizing that the change would only apply to the US continental shelf.

"It is important to read what the order says. It says that it will be called the Gulf of America on their continental shelf. In other words, what corresponds to the US continental shelf, they call the Gulf of America. For us, it is still the Gulf of Mexico, as it is for the rest of the world," Sheinbaum explained during a press conference.

Sheinbaum also responded with humor to the move earlier this month, suggesting that Mexico might rename North America as "América Mexicana" if the US were to proceed with renaming the Gulf. "That sounds nice, no?" she added, referencing a historical document from 1814.

The United Nations weighed in on the matter, with spokesperson Farhan Haq asserting that naming conventions should not be altered unilaterally.

"I don't have any particular reaction to this. I believe that a lot of the various naming conventions are well established and are not really the purview of any one individual state," Haq said on Tuesday.

  • Donald Trump
  • Gulf of Mexico
  • executive order
  • United States
  • Mexico

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Displaced Palestinians walk through a makeshift camp along the beach in Gaza City, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)

Hamas, other factions accept Egypt-Qatar ceasefire proposal: Exclusive

  • Politics
  • 18 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS