Will the Gulf of Mexico now be part of the US? US President-elect Donald Trump has proposed changing the name of that territory to the ‘Gulf of America’.
The reason? According to the next US president, the name change to the Gulf of Mexico is appropriate because it covers territory of his country.
“We are going to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful sound and covers a lot of territory. The Gulf of America, what a beautiful name. And it is appropriate. It is appropriate,” Trump told the media on Tuesday, January 7.
Trump demands the return of the Panama Canal
Trump not only proposed renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of the United States,” but also issued warnings to other countries. Among them, he demanded that Panama return control of the Panama Canal to the United States.
The former US president again insisted on regaining control of the Panama Canal, accusing the Central American country of charging excessive transit fees to his country’s ships that use this strategic route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Trump also expressed concern about China’s influence, saying that the Asian giant is “practically taking control” of the canal, which, according to him, represents a risk to international trade.
“The Panama Canal was built for our Army,” Trump declared, while again criticizing former President Jimmy Carter’s (1977-1981) decision to transfer control of the canal to Panama during his administration.
Trump does not rule out military action in Greenland
The next president of the United States said he would not rule out a military confrontation to achieve his goal of bringing both the Panama Canal and Greenland under American control.
“I can’t guarantee anything in that regard, but I can say this: we need them for our economic security,” Trump said when asked if he would avoid the use of economic or military coercion to achieve these goals.
These statements came after the former president outlined his intention to expand US influence in the Western Hemisphere, including his proposal to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, which intensified tensions with an important trading partner and neighboring ally.
