Luis Eudoro Valencia, a U.S. citizen from Perris, California, was charged Thursday with smuggling a Bengal tiger cub into the United States from Mexico. Agents found the cub lying on the floor of the car on the passenger side while doing a routine inspection at about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Otay Mesa border crossing, southeast of downtown San Diego, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Valencia, 18, told the court that . . .