US says Gulf of Mexico officially renamed Gulf of America

Washington:

The Trump administration’s Interior Department said Friday it had officially renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico, and Alaska Peak Denali to Mount McKinley.

US President Donald Trump ordered the name change as a part of executive actions hours after taking office on Monday, making good on a campaign promise.

“As directed by the President, the Gulf of Mexico will now officially be known as the Gulf of Mexico and North America’s highest peak will once again bear the name Mount McKinley,” the Interior Department said in a statement. “

Alaska’s towering peak was called Mount McKinley in honor of former US President William McKinley, but was renamed Denali in the Koyukon indigenous language at the state’s request in 1975.

“These changes reaffirm the nation’s commitment to preserving the extraordinary heritage of the United States and ensuring that future generations of Americans celebrate the legacy of its heroes and historic properties,” the department said. .

In his inaugural address on Monday, Trump said McKinley, a Republican who was president from 1897 to 1901, “made our country very prosperous through tariffs and through talent — he was a natural businessman.” McKinley was America’s leader in an expansionist era, gaining Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico as territories. Hawaii later became a US state.

While Trump could direct the U.S. Geological Survey to change how it refers to the Gulf of Mexico, such a name change would be unlikely to be recognized internationally.

Mexico, which like the U.S. has a long coastline circling a body of water, has said the Gulf of Mexico name is recognized internationally and has been used as a navigational reference for hundreds of years. Going back years.

Earlier this month Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum mocked North America, including the United States, by renaming it “Mexican America” ​​– a historical name that was used on early maps of the region.