Donald Trump, the President of the United States, mentioned an alleged phone call he had with Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum about the Gulf of… whose? While he insists it must be the Gulf of America or the United States because of the area surrounding it, the numbers tell a different story.
During a press conference, the Republican revived the controversy surrounding the Gulf of Mexico, claiming that the United States has more land surrounding the area than Mexico. He stated that the US has 92% of the area, while Mexico has 8% or less.
But maps and figures for Exclusive Economic Zones tell a different story, showing that Mexico does indeed have a larger percentage.
There are references to the “Gulf of Mexico” dating back more than 400 years, but its name has changed throughout history. Credit: Canva
According to calculations by the Flanders Marine Institute, Mexico does have the largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the Gulf of Mexico, contrary to what Trump said.
According to information retrieved from the Flanders Institute by Brilliant Maps, Mexico holds 47.67% of the Exclusive Economic Zone in this part of the Gulf of Mexico, covering 740,475 km², while the United States holds 44.75%, or 695,121 km².
The New York Times cited information from the Sovereign Limits international border database, which indicates that the U.S. claims 46% of the Gulf, while Mexico claims 49%.
According to this data, Mexico claims 757,300 km², while the U.S. claims 707,600 km². Cuba would have the smallest percentage, at 6%, with 82,000 km².
Trump Disconnects and Goes to Greenland and the Gulf of Mexico
Trump’s Fight to Change the Gulf’s Name to “Gulf of America”
Trump began the year claiming he would change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America,” even issuing an executive order to “rename” it. Google Maps did change the name, and in the US it’s called “Gulf of America,” but the order hasn’t affected how Mexico refers to it.
Media outlets in the United States decided not to accept the change, so they kept the name Gulf, as is the case with The Associated Press and The New York Times, while others decided to refer to the Gulf as both “of Mexico” and “of America,” using both names.
Source: radioformula
