The seizure arose from an nearly 20-year-old lawsuit brought by a former GM dealership in western Venezuela. The company's suppliers represent more than half the auto parts market there, according to GM.
The world's third-largest automaker says this was an "illegal judicial seizure of its assets".
Venezuelan officials said the plant is actually under "embargada".
Hector Riera, 43, a product analyst who has worked with GM Venezuela for 16 years, was among many who appeared convinced the plant been confiscated by dealers connected with GM.
Venezuela is in deep crisis at this time.
Protesters with flags and signs chant during a rally against the Venezuelan government at a rally in front of the Freedom Tower in Miami, Florida, on April 19, 2017.
But the move against GM, the United States' biggest automaker, was a much more powerful statement, and could lead to a further erosion of relations between the two countries.
In Washington, the State Department said in a statement that it was reviewing details of the factory seizure and called on Venezuelan authorities to resolve the case "rapidly and transparently".
Junior Perdomo, 36, an analyst at GM Venezuela, said he learned of the takeover Monday on a social network, and that on Tuesday a dealership representative came to the plant to explain the situation.
Pressure on the leftist president has been mounting since 2014, as falling prices for Venezuela's crucial oil exports have aggravated an economic crisis.
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Thunderstorms and tornado warnings caused nearly 3,000 flights to be cancelled or delayed. Tracking service flightaware.com says Delta had canceled more than 400 flights by midday.
Across the country, the clashes have been intense.
The 17-year-old was shot by gunmen on motorbikes who also threw tear gas canisters into a crowd of protesters, Amadeo Leiva, head of the Clinicas Caracas Hospital which treated him, told AFP.
"They're using a Venezuelan's death, for which they're responsible, to commit slander", Machado said on Twitter. "That's how this criminal dictatorship works". Overnight, a National Guard sergeant was killed and a colonel injured when their squad was attacked with gunfire while trying to control disturbances in a city near Caracas, the chief prosecutor's office said. Another officer was wounded in the clashes. President Nicolas Maduro later asked the court to walk back that move amid a storm of worldwide criticism.
The country's economy contracted by an estimated 18 percent previous year, facing one of the world's highest inflation rates and widespread shortages of food and medicine.
It calls on Venezuelan authorities to respect rights and "retake the path of democratic institutionality", release political prisoners and set dates for elections, among other things.
The dire economic situation led an opposition campaign to form previous year and demand a referendum vote on Maduro's rule.
Maduro has been accused by the opposition of behaving like a dictator.
But the government hasn't backed down.
"Today they attempted to take power by force and we defeated them again", said Maduro, adding that in recent hours authorities had rounded up several armed opponents seeking to carry out a coup.
Explains: Why are protests rocking Venezuela now?
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