President Reagan ordered the CIA to recruit the Contras because he thought they were necessary to oust a Communist-leaning government in Nicaragua.
One of the reason Reagan was a prominent president, was because of his policies aimed at fighting communism across the world. Nicaragua was a place which homed several communist since the Sandinistas overthrow the government of Nicaragua to establish a communist regime. On the other hand, the Contrast, were a group of people who were against this communist overthrow.