One of Donald Trump’s first acts on his return to the White House was to sign an executive order purporting to rename the body of water.

Google Maps users in the US now see it labelled as “Gulf of America”, while users in Mexico see “Gulf of Mexico” and users in neither country see both names.

Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum yesterday threatened legal action against Google over the “inaccurate designation”, CNN reports.

Mr Trump only has authority to change the name of the water “within his own continental shelf, which extends 22 nautical miles from the US coast”, she said.

A letter sent by Ms Sheinbaum’s administration to Google warns that “any reference to the ‘Gulf of America’ initiative on your Google Maps platform must be strictly limited to the marine area under US jurisdiction”.

It adds: “Any extension beyond that zone exceeds the authority of any national government or private entity. Should that be the case, the Government of Mexico will take the appropriate legal actions as deemed necessary.”