The Gulf of Mexico is to be renamed the “Gulf of America” under one of the first executive orders due to be signed by US president Donald Trump.
During his inaugural address on Monday, President Trump said it would be enacted “ a short time from now”.
He had signalled the move, along with retaking the Panama Canal, at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month when he said the gulf was currently run by cartels.
"We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring that covers a lot of territory, the Gulf of America," he had said at the press conference.
"What a beautiful name. And it's appropriate. It's appropriate. And Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country."
ABC News said that the US Board of Geographic Names has jurisdiction for geographic titles, but presidents can make a change by executive order.
The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth-largest body of water in the world, covering some 600,000 square miles.
Half of the US petroleum refining and natural gas processing capacity is located along the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The gulf also supplies about 40% of the seafood caught for the US, ABC News quotes the Environmental Defense Fund as confirming.
Read the ABC News report here
