The Enigma of Bermeja: Mexico's Vanished Island in the Gulf of Mexico

Have you heard of the island that mysteriously disappeared?

Bermeja, a small uninhabited island northwest of the Yucatán Peninsula, appeared to vanish without a trace. Previously mapped at 22°33' N, 91°22' W in the Gulf of Mexico, it has puzzled maritime surveys and aerial reconnaissance. Mexicans are eager to uncover its fate.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, Spanish explorers consistently depicted Bermeja on maps, sometimes as Vermeja, with minor location variations. From the 18th century onward, its presence on charts began to fade until it disappeared entirely. Its final documented appearance was in the 1921 Geographic Atlas of the Mexican Republic. What became of it?

Numerous theories explain Bermeja's disappearance. Could rising sea levels from climate change have submerged it? Might an underwater earthquake have destroyed it? Some conspiracy theorists even claim the CIA demolished it to bolster U.S. claims in the oil-rich Gulf—speculative, yet intriguing.

In 1997, Mexico and the U.S. negotiated a treaty dividing the Hoyos de Dona area, where Bermeja was thought to lie. Spurred by potential territorial gains—and access to valuable oil reserves—Mexico launched an expedition to locate it. The exclusive economic zone extension could be significant.

The search found nothing, and the treaty proceeded. Now, as the moratorium on oil exploration in Hoyos de Dona nears expiration, Mexico resumes the hunt. The economic stakes are high.

In 2009, three official expeditions employed advanced sonar and satellite technology, scanning depths thoroughly. Yet Bermeja eluded detection. Is it time to conclude it never existed—a fabrication by early cartographers to deceive rivals? Julio Zamora, president of the Mexican Society of Geography, argues: 'Countries in the 16th and 17th centuries introduced map inaccuracies to thwart enemies.' A fictitious island could deter intruders, securing the region.

Irasema Alcántara of UNAM's Geography Institute counters: 'Documents provide precise descriptions of Bermeja's existence… We believe it existed, but possibly at a different location.'

Phantom island, geological casualty, or geopolitical pawn? Bermeja's truth remains elusive.

¿Habla español? Follow David Cuen's quest for Bermeja at BBC Mundo.