Bermeja: The Island That Vanished off the Coast of Mexico. Was it Destroyed in an Oil War?

In the Gulf of Mexico, a mysterious island known as Bermeja once appeared on maps for centuries, sparking the curiosity of explorers, cartographers, and later, governments. Portrayed as a small, reddish landmass off the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, Bermeja was believed to hold significant geopolitical importance. However, despite its prominent place in maritime charts, modern searches have failed to locate any trace of the island, leading to one of the most intriguing cartographic mysteries of the modern era. The story of Bermeja raises questions about its existence and what might have caused it to vanish.

Mexico’s Search for the Lost Island of Bermeja

Before its seemingly sudden disappearance, Bermeja could be found on maps dating back to the 16th century. Believed to have been a small, reddish-colored island, its name derives from the Spanish word “bermejo,” which literally means reddish. For centuries, it was consistently portrayed as being in the Gulf of Mexico, around 100 km (62,137 mi) off the Yucatan Peninsula’s northern coast at 22° 33′ N latitude and 91° 22′ W longitude.

Bermeja appears to have first been recorded by Spanish explorers during the early days of New World exploration. Its name was first put to paper by the renowned 16th-century cartographer Alonso de Santa Cruz in his 1539 work, El Yucatán e Islas Adyacentes. It quickly became a fixture in maritime navigation charts and appeared in important cartographic works. In 1540, Alonso de Chaves recorded its precise location in Espejo de Navegantes, the location given until its bizarre disappearance. 

Retrato de Alonso de Santa Cruz, por Eulogia Merle (Eulogia Merle/CC BY-SA 4.0 )

Bermeja’s depiction on these maps lent it an air of authenticity, as it was considered an important reference point in the largely uncharted waters of the Gulf. As the centuries passed, Bermeja maintained its place on maps, becoming a key geographic marker in discussions surrounding maritime boundaries and territorial claims. 

It’s supposed location placed it within an area of the Gulf of Mexico that was believed to be rich in oil reserves, adding to its significance. However, despite its long-standing presence in historical cartography, modern efforts to locate Bermeja have been fruitless, leaving the mystery of its existence unresolved.

Bermeja’s True Value

Bermeja’s existence was taken for granted until the late 20th century when efforts to locate the island failed repeatedly. The story of its disappearance began in 1997, when the Mexican government launched an official expedition to survey its waters and confirm Bermeja’s existence to reinforce its maritime borders.

Despite using advanced technology and thorough search methods, the survey found no trace of Bermeja. The search continued, and in 2009 an even more extensive survey was carried out by the National Autonomous University of Mexico for the Mexican Chamber of Deputies. This one also came up empty-handed, which was a problem for the Mexican government.

No one cared about Bermeja itself. If it existed, it was little more than a big red rock in the Gulf of Mexico with nothing on it. What Mexico cared about was the oil that had been found in 1971 in the Hoyos de Doña field. This discovery had led to the founding of Mexico’s national oil company, PEMEX, and made it a major player in the global oil game. 

Of course, Mexico’s neighbor, the USA, is also a huge fan of oil. Ever since the discovery of oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico, the two countries have been arguing over who holds the rights to the liquid black gold within. If Bermeja existed, it could have extended Mexico’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Gulf of Mexico, helping its argument significantly. 

Mexico needed Bermeja to exist. The USA needed it to not exist. This meant that the failure to locate Bermeja quickly sparked a fair amount of controversy and speculation. Soon, theories emerged suggesting that perhaps certain foreign powers might have played a hand in Bermeja’s seeming disappearance. After all, islands don’t just disappear into thin air, do they?

A 1914 map showing U.S. claim on “Bermejo I.” (Public Domain)

The Theories

The answer to that question is yes; islands do indeed disappear. They’re called ‘Phantom Islands’, and modern historians and cartographers have recorded a surprising amount of them. If Bermeja is or was a phantom island, there are several mundane explanations for what could have happened to it. 

The most likely theory is that Bermeja simply never existed. The boring truth is that its presence on early maps can simply be put down to a cartographic error. In the age of exploration, maps were often based on limited and sometimes inaccurate information. 

Misinterpretations of navigational data or the desire to fill in uncharted areas might have led to the creation of Bermeja. The island could have been a figment of the cartographers’ imagination or a misidentified landmass that was inaccurately recorded and then perpetuated through subsequent maps.

The second most likely option is that Mother Nature had her wicked way with Bermeja. While there’s no evidence to support this theory (at least not yet), rising sea levels or erosion could have destroyed the island. Michael Antochiw Kolpa, a French Mexican cartographer, claimed British maps of the region have listed Bermeja as being 60 fathoms (360 ft; 110 m) below the surface since 1844.

Finally, we come to the least likely theory. Some conspiracy theorists strongly believe that the United States had the CIA destroy the island. Supposedly, this was done to limit Mexico’s territorial claims to the Gulf of Mexico’s most oil-rich areas. This theory raises more questions than it answers.

The CIA has pulled off some pretty audacious missions over the years, many of them shady. But disappearing an entire island without anyone noticing seems like a stretch. Conventional explosives would draw too much attention, while anything else would require sci-fiction-level mining equipment.

Conclusion

So, what happened to Bermeja? Mexico’s own surveys give us the answer. Not only is there no evidence Bermeja exists, but scans of the sea floor show there’s no evidence an island ever existed there. If it had disappeared due to rising sea levels, Bermeja would be simply hiding beneath the surface. If erosion had somehow destroyed an entire island in around 400 years, there would still be some traces.

Likewise, the idea that the United States could make an entire island disappear and leave no trace behind is basically impossible. It would be easier to declare war on Mexico and simply take the oil.

Ultimately, Bermeja appears to be a product of cartographic error, a reminder of the challenges faced by early explorers and mapmakers in charting the unknown, and that sometimes the simplest answer is also the best.

Top image: Old map showing the Mexican phantom island Bermeja.            Source:  Public Domain

By Robbie Mitchell