Reagan's reputation was badly hurt by the political scandal Iran-Contra Affair. The government illegally sold weapons to Iran. It later used the profits to support a Nicaraguan terrorist group called the Contras. Reagan told the American people he didn't know anything about the scandal. Reagan funded the Contras to fight off the Communist regime of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, but when it became too expensive, Congress made it illegal to pay the Contras. As a result, the scandal at the center of the affair and the cover up was using illegal profits to break the law a second time by supporting terrorists.